Deadlock
by BrittBerry
Summary: Kristoff disappeared before she had even truly realized how much she cared. Anna, convinced she can find him, sets off to do such but comes up empty handed. In order to advance she must cooperate with someone she deems as "scum of the earth", who coincidentally also needs her help for his own selfish progression.
1. Chapter ONE

_**Deadlock**_

_Chapter ONE, The Proposition of Proposal_

The lack of the sled outside should've been her first clue as to what was to come.

"Kristoff?" The Princess of Arendelle asked, breaths spilling from her mouth loudly while she looked around the, now empty, cabin. "Kristoff, are you here?" She didn't know why she was yelling anymore, the cabin was small and humble enough for even her voice to carry throughout it without any effort. "If you're trying to get back at me for everything, its not funny!"

Unfortunately in order to be playing some sort of gag on her, Kristoff actually had to be within the vicinity. And with a further lookdown of the small cabin, it was clear that he _wasn't_. "Where did you go?"

What she really should've been asking herself was why it had taken the auburn-haired girl so long to realize how much she actually cared for the man in question. It wasn't entirely her fault though, because how was she supposed to foretell this? Sure, she could kind of see that her and Kristoff's budding romance was being cut short as her sister and herself had to put their lives on hold to pick up pieces of a broken Kingdom, which had been shattered by the _spawn of Satan_ in the flesh.

Her lower lip pushed into a frown at the thought.

But it wasn't like the transition had been sudden, oh no, Anna had let the burly, blonde mountain-man slip out of her fingers slowly. So slowly, that she hadn't even realized he had been gone by the time she noticed that there were no traces left of him on her fingers. And it was only after that realization that she heard her heart screaming something about much it needed him.

So now she was here. Tired and flush faced after running to his cabin to tell him something—_anything_—and finding that he had left her in the dust. Or, that she had let him do such while caught up in the fantasy her own little world.

"Kristoff…how could I have let you go?"

Somehow she figured that this wouldn't be the last time that this question would come back to haunt her.

* * *

"Is this the part where you tell me I was right all along?" Elsa took a sip of her tea as she looked down at her sister…who's head was currently face-down on the table while her hands entangled in a mess of a mane that once resembled hair.

"Elsaaaa, I'm so stupid!" The reply was muffled against the tablecloth, but came nonetheless.

Her sister only responded with what sounded like a sigh, shoving a cooling glass of tea in Anna's direction. "Here, drink. It'll make you feel better."

"It wasn't like I meant to leave him or anything! There was just so much going on with the Kingdom, fixing all those relationship-things with those…guys—"

"You mean the dignitaries Mikahail and Boris from the Kingdom of Krovnia. The ones we spent _3 weeks_ fighting about trade routes with."

"See!" All at once she flung her body up and backwards, in a stunt that startled Elsa and almost made Anna topple over in her chair. "I'm so wrecked I can't even remember their names!"

The worst part of this all was that Elsa had foretold this. She had said that Anna was treading dangerous territory by taking on the same load as her sister, because to someone not engrossed in the politics of it all (Kristoff), her business could have been taken as indifference towards them.

Anna waited for that moment, the moment when her sister would finally coo 'I told you so' into her ear...but found the sensation of another hand on her own instead. "He can't be gone forever Anna, he probably just needed to get away for a while." Despite the surprise, Elsa's words didn't seem to sooth the pronounced frown on the younger sister's face any. "If you really love him that much…maybe you should go after him."

This time the response from Anna was quite different, eliciting a pause in her crocodile tears as she looked towards Elsa with a pair of puffed up eyes. "Go…after him?"

Elsa nodded, moving her hand back to her cup of tea. "He can't have gotten too far while lugging Sven around, right?"

For a moment there was silence, Anna staring at a spot on the wall in a way that Elsa recognized all too well. "That's it."

The queen shot her sister a cautious look. "That's what…"

"That's it, Elsa! I'll go find him! Like you said, he couldn't be too far and I'll just tell him everything that happened and then—" Anna looked directly towards her sister with a mischievous glint that made her regret saying anything at all. "I'll propose!"

Instantly she coughed, choking on what was left of her tea. "You'll—you'll what?!"

"Yes, I'm going to do it! I'll walk right up to him, tell him exactly how I feel—well, after I buy a ring of course—and say, 'Kristoff, I was a complete idiot, come back to Arendelle and we will be wed on the 'morrow!"

"Anna you can't just propose to a man just because he up and leaves town!"

"Why not? I mean, he left because he thought I was indifferent, right? So if I go and let him know I'm serious he has to come back!" For the first time in a long while, a smile curled at the edges of her lips. "Elsa, please. I swear I wont be reckless, this is just something I have to do." She reached out a pair of small hands to grab Elsa's, taking note of how delicate they felt against her own. "I know you're afraid because of what happened with Hans, but it's different this time. Kristoff isn't Hans, I can trust him." Her eyes turned downwards as she bit her lip to contain her smile before veering her pupils back up towards Elsa. "I really love him. If it doesn't work out, then that's fine…but I at least have to try."

She knew Elsa couldn't help but grant her wish with how intensely Anna was staring at her. However, it still took a few wavering moments for her to finally nod, causing a frantic flurry of emotions from Anna while she jumped around and danced with various butlers giddily on the way to her room.

"Thank you Elsa! You won't regret it!" With a wave and a nod the feisty girl skipped out of view, no doubt to start planning scenes of a grandeur engagement to the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer.

Elsa moved a hand to her forehead. "What have I just done?"

* * *

How a large, stocky man such as Kristoff could seemingly have left Arendelle without a trace was beyond her. Looking through every nook in cranny the Kingdom had to offer only proved to be quite tiring and fruitless. And, in addition to having to talk to every weird-o and drunkard in town (one of which had claimed he saw Kristoff being carried away to the moon by a _fork_,) she was almost trampled by three horses, cursed out by five people who didn't agree with Elsa's decision concerning the Russian dignitaries, _and_ had stepped in one meaty pile of animal poo that had been nestled nicely in a hidden notch on the side of the road.

So yes, by that point Anna had felt quite ready, and entitled, for a plate of chocolates and a nap.

In a fit of anger, she took the warm winter hat on her head and threw it to the ground. "Why is this so hard!" With a grunt she sat down, clearly frustrated as she looked out towards the docks. Wasn't this whole thing a little dramatic? Kristoff leaving the Kingdom just because he was, unintentionally, not receiving any attention?

Jeez. She let out an aggravated breath. He really _was_ as much of a child as she was.

"My dear…" A decrepit voice shook from behind her. "Princes Anna, what has you wandering around our parts?" The offending speaker was so old and fragile that Anna was afraid she might crumble if she were to touch her.

"I'm looking for something I've lost." She sighed, turning back around and resting her head on her hands in a defeated motion.

The woman smiled, hobbling to her beside while shaking. "Ah, I see…something you've lost from long ago."

"Um, no its something I just realized was missing I guess…"

"Mhmm."

The way she had said that made her feel like she knew something that Anna did not.

"If this is about that nice blonde boy you used to walk around here with, I believe he left on boat not four days ago." She coughed. "He paid a few people around here to keep quiet about the departure, but you seem very distressed."

"I…" She shook her head. "You saw him leave? Are you sure?"

"I would never forget such a love-sick face. Yes, I remember because for a moment I thought that he would jump back off and swim to shore after the boat had already left the dock!" Despite her chuckle, Anna didn't find any of this very funny.

"So he's not here? You saw him, that's wonderful! Where was the ship going, do you know?"

Somehow her excitement made the old woman chuckle even harder. "Oh, how confused you are!" Anna didn't understand the comment, but let her continue without interruption. "Unfortunately I didn't hear where the ship departed to, you see my hearing isn't what it used to be."

Within a single moment, she could feel herself deflating. She had come so far and was so close just to realize that she would have to start right back at square one.

"But I think if you go back to his cabin again, there might be someone there who can help you. I saw a strange white man with an orange nose head that way—"

"Olaf, of course!" Her face brightened up again, hopping off the stone ledge. "Thank you, thank you so much!"

Her feet carried her as fast as humanly possible because Anna knew that she had no time to waste. Four days was a long time as far as she was concerned, considering that she had found, lost and then found love again all within a two-day span during Arendelle's 'winter dilemma.' If it had only taken her and Kristoff 2 days to realize they loved each other, then who's to say it wouldn't take him the same amount of time to fall out of it? The more time she spent, the more boats he could take, and the more boats he took meant the less likely it was that she would ever find him.

"Why a mountain of all places?" She huffed, noticing the small, familiar cabin in the distance. For some reason he still had preferred the isolation after Arendelle was restored, talking something about how his family would cry if he were to move any farther away. No, she was not about to fight that; for fear that they may all topple on top of her and force Anna to move in with Kristoff in lieu of a 'honeymoon.'

"H—" She slipped on a nearby moss-covered rock, covering herself in thick, slimy mud. Somehow she was definitely going to make Kristoff pay for this after they were married. "Hey!"

"Anna?"

"Olaf!" She pulled a leaf out of her hair before running towards the cabin with a smile.

"Anna! Wowww, you look so…love…ly…" His twiggy arm smudged a brown spot on her skirt. "Is that a new…perfume you're wearing?"

"Okay no—well, yes, but its not perfume—that's not the point Olaf, I need your help!" She crouched down to be at eye level with him, allowing the unfortunate aroma of poo fill her nostrils as well. "Wait, why are you here anyways?"

"Oh yeah, Kristoff told me to check up on his place while he was gone!"

"…You knew he was leaving?"

"Oh I don't think I was supposed to say that…"

"He told you not to say that?" Now she was confused, because she couldn't figure out for the life of her why Kristoff would want to keep this a secret.

"Yeah, just like he didn't want me to tell you that he was going to the South Fern Aisle…wait…" A static hand touched his mouth…or whatever that slit on his face was.

She shook the thought and shot him a baffled look. "The South Fern Aisle?" She had never heard of that one before. It seemed like a pretty silly name for an island, maybe their King was crazy? Or he just really liked ferns, or they had a lot of ferns, or— "Wait, South Fern Aisle!?"

"Yep." Olaf told her, matter-of-factly.

"South Fern Aisle, The Southern Isles! He went to the _Southern Isles_!"

"Yeah, that's what I said! Anna, are you sure that everything is ok? Like, you didn't hit your head really hard or something?" His hand (arm or whatever) moved to her back. "Do-you-understand-me?"

"Olaf, I'm fine I've just had a weird day."

"Yes! I-understand-you, I'm-sure-its-been-a-very-strange-day-for-you!"

She didn't appreciate that he was talking to her like he was talking to Kristoff before it had been revealed that the rocks he claimed to be his family were in fact trolls. "Just tell me how long he said he was going to be gone."

"He told me not to say anything, I can't betray his trust like that! We're pals, amigos, best of buddies, we're—"

It seemed Olaf had gotten off his soapbox real quick after Anna, literally, took his nose right off his face. "You wanna re-think that?" She tapped the carrot on her shoulder while standing up to keep it out of his reach.

"Anna, no! Bad Anna! I need that back, I _promised_!"

"I'm being serious Olaf, I need to know where he is because I have to tell him something important!"

He stopped the frantic waving of his arms, moving them to his side. "Something important?"

"I'm going to…" She smiled a bit. "I'm going to propose, to Kristoff."

"You're engaged! Congratulations, oh Anna I'm so happy! Mmmm!" She felt the cold of snow on her skirt as he pressed himself against it in a hug.

"No," She laughed out the word. "I'm not engaged—well not yet, but I will be! So I really need to know how long he will be gone so I know how to find him." Lightly, she shoved the carrot back into his face after she had bended back down.

"Well…he didn't tell me exactly how long." There was a pause while she let him think, which was still a process she didn't quite understand. "He said it was a while though, like a few months?"

"So then I have to go after him." If she didn't, he may like it so well in the sunny Southern Isles that he may very well just not come back. She couldn't blame him; she'd probably go on vacation herself if someone she loved suddenly abandoned them in their time of need. "I have to go now, I must! I've…I've got to get packed, there's so much to do!" In a whirl of emotions she spun around with her hands on her head, trying to get it all in order. "There's no time to waste, thank you Olaf!" She pressed a pair of red lips on his cheek, feeling the coldness of the ice crystals against her skin.

"Woah, woah! Don't put me in that position Anna, Kristoff's my best friend!"

"No, Olaf, I was just—never mind! I have to go, but if you see him tell Kristoff this: I'm coming for you."

And coming she was. Whether he liked it or not.

* * *

**Notes:**

**Hi everyone! It's been a while since I posted anything, and I even made a new account to kick off the event! (The old one I had is really, _really_, old) I'm always hesitant to post stories with multiple chapters because I tend to go into things without a plan and then end up biting more than I can chew. So I told myself I would only post the first Chapter if I had 3 solid chapters written out, knew my ending and had, had at least up to Chapter 6 planned out.**

**And guess what? I did all that! I'm very committed to finishing this, writing it has almost become an addiction and I'm excited to take you all on this journey with me.**

**The story is based slightly on the idea of the movie _Leap Year_, if you've seen it. I have wanted to write a Hans/Anna story for a while but couldn't figure out a good plot until I was lazin' around one day and this movie came to mind.**

**I've really wanted to see some interaction between these characters (Hans and Anna) where they are together, but also where all the events in the movie took place and its not totally AU. In most scenarios things end up dark (because that is the _much_ more realistic option) and we never truly get to see the characters have a good ending so I decided to try and figure out a scenario where that would happen and this is the result.  
**

**I am not a writer, I will never be a writer and have never claimed to be a writer so please don't go too hard on me for this. I'm really just writing this for fun and I thought some others might like to see this work too so I decided to post it here c:**

**Phew.**

**Anyways, if you've made it this far I am very grateful for the time you took to read my story. I have been averaging about 4 days to write each chapter, so I can at least promise I will have one up a week. If writing goes well then I'll post them closer together, and if school suddenly gets crazier then they'll be closer to the week range. I have a lot of ideas for this and I'm really excited to get into the meat of it all. I plan on this being around 8 or 9 chapters at the moment, so I hope you will stick with me through then!**

**Thank you so much, I look forward to hearing from you all!**

**-Britt**


	2. Chapter TWO

_**Deadlock**_

_Chapter TWO, The Insanity on the Isles_

It was rather quickly that the room the two stood in filled with silence. Anna, looking towards her sister sheepishly, walked forward as if balancing on eggshells because she honestly had no idea what was going to happen next.

"You're going _where_!?"

Oh, that scream did not have the feeling of approval.

"The Southern Isles, its not that big of a deal! I mean, we're basically next door neighbors, yeah?"

"_No._" The force with which Elsa spoke suddenly made Anna regret suggesting anything at all. "You do realize your former boyfriend, you know, the one who tried to overthrow our entire kingdom, lives there, right? Or did you foolishly block that whole scenario out of your mind!"

She had her on that one. "Yeah, but—"

"But what, Anna!? Didn't you consider for one second that there could be a lot of people there upset with us locking up their prince? That man's a peacock who paints pretty pictures to make people see him as he wants them to!" She growled, freezing a glass of water on the table for good measure.

Anna had to admit that the whole idea was a bit outrageous, which is why she was beginning to understand the reason Kristoff chose to head there of all places. Anyone with a good head on their shoulders could guess that at least half of their time fixing up the Kingdom consisted of dealings, apologies and peace treaties with the current King of Southern Isles. Though, she still didn't know too much about the details on that other than they had let Prince Hans go free after a 'stern' talking to. Elsa had pretty much blocked her out of anything to do with that country, fearing that it would bring back bad memories of a romance that was and, in turn, make Anna feeble.

But, jeez, it wasn't like she loved him _that_ much.

"Elsa, please! You said I could go after Kristoff and that's what I'm trying to do!"

"That was before, when I thought he had just fallen asleep in the woods for a few days and not after I found out he was tromping around in the Southern Isles." She sneered, turning to tell a waiter something just before he went running to the kitchens.

"C'mon, it'll be fine! I'll just go in disguise, they'll never even know I'm there!"

"Anna, your first mistake was assuming that you are able to do _anything_ 'in disguise'."

Ouch. "Okay fine, I'll go sneakily _and_ with a lot of guards! It's flawless, I'll be in and out before they even know I'm there!"

Elsa let out a sigh, giving Anna hope that she had cracked her if only slightly. "And why is it that you can't just wait until he's back to tell him that you were an idiot for leaving him?"

"Olaf said he'd be gone for a few months. Who knows what could happen in that amount of time! What if he decides to never come back, finds another woman in his sorrows or, even worse, he decides he can't handle the pain of heartbreak and ends his life right then and there!"

"That's quite a leap."

"But it's not impossible." She emphasized the last word.

"Somehow feel like you're not going to give up on this."

"Nope." She smiled.

"Anna, I'm serious. Think of what would happen if anyone found out a princess of Arendelle was in their Kingdom. Think of what the townsfolk may do, what the other twelve princes might do, what _Hans_ might do!"

"What they might to do me? What about what they'd do to Kristoff, it wasn't like it was any sort of secret that he was helping me out all along! I even had to hold him back before I took a whack at that—that—liar Hans!" She shot her sister an exasperated look, desperate for her to understand.

"…And all this doesn't frighten you in the slightest?"

The comment caught her off guard slightly, and she veered her eyes away while trying to think of the best response. "A little bit, yeah." It was clear by the expression on Elsa's face that her words were not what she was expecting. "Yeah, the whole thing was horrible, and yes, I am scared of what that family could do in the right circumstances…but if we let our fears control us, then it just proves that Hans really did win after all, doesn't it?"

By the way she sighed, it was obvious Elsa was getting tired also. "You know, for someone so clumsy you can say some extremely wise things."

Anna didn't quite understand. "What?"

"You're right. Us sitting here fighting like this is exactly what he would've wanted…and we can't let him have that, can we?" A smiled tugged at Elsa's lips.

"Does that mean—?!"

"Yes, yes, just go! Hurry before I change my mind, and don't you think for one second that this kind of probing will work a second time!"

The warning was no use. Anna was already a long ways down the hallway, dually figuring out a catchy fake name along with which one of her dresses best suited an engagement.

* * *

It was amazing how much a change in her hairstyle and a shawl over her head could make her blend in with the rest of Arendelle's residents. And in reality, Anna actually liked it a bit. The usual, fanciful gowns her and Elsa were forced to wear every time a dignitary, ambassador or whoever came to town (which was basically everyday) were tiring, uncomfortable and itchy. She much preferred the simple elegance of the clothes she had gotten at Oaken's. Which is why it wasn't any surprise to her peers when she returned there to grab whatever they had to offer for her long journey south.

Anna drummed her fingers against her bag nervously. "Don't you think it looks a little weird, the queen coming to send off a local commoner at the dock?"

"Relax, you don't have to pretend just yet. Besides, I'm your sister who's worried about you, at least let me see you off."

All those years of imagining what life would be like if she could just have her sister back were nothing compared to the real thing. No matter when or where, Elsa's kind words always seemed to be the cause of the soft curve to her lips. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

Elsa laughed into the back of her hand. "You had better be, because if I don't hear from you in a few weeks I'm going to be forced to get you out of there myself."

"I'll write, you can count on that."

What they had right now was rare. Her and Elsa may have had a lot of fun memories between them since they had been reunited, but there were hardly any like this. Moments where they were both silent, staring at each other and realizing just how deep their bond had been despite the years of isolation wedged between them. It was something Anna wished she could trap up in a bottle and take with her, because heaven knows she would need it.

"Lady Anna, the ship is ready to set sail when you are!"

The goofy smile she was shooting her sister suddenly broke; looking back to the sailor and feeling a touch to her hand jolt her back into reality. "Be safe. You know I would wreck their whole Kingdom if any of those dopey Princes even look at you in the wrong way."

Somehow, Anna didn't feel that her words were entirely a joke. "I will…and Elsa?"

The girl in question smiled, responding only by looking in her eyes.

"I love you." Anna pulled her in for a hug, savoring the sweet smell of her person.

Elsa laughed. "I love you too Anna. Now go, don't keep them all waiting! Kristoff could be halfway to the moon on that fork by now for all you know!"

"Wait, how did you—" She was cut off when a pair of hands started to push her up the ramp to the boat.

"Try not to draw too much attention! Come back as soon as possible!"

"Okay I will but—"

"Okay men! Set sail for the Southern Isles!"

The ramp suddenly dropped behind her, meaning that Anna couldn't turn back even if she wanted too. Apparently now she was the lovesick puppy wondering if this all was even a good idea, and she could guess that such was probably evident on her face. Especially as she noticed the older woman from the day before sitting at the same spot near the ships departure, still smiling wide as if she had already known that Anna was going to make this decision.

* * *

There were legitimate reasons that Anna did not particularly enjoy traveling by boat. For one, it was not something that she had done often seeing as most of her childhood was spent in a castle. Which was a major contributor to reason number two, that she still hadn't gained her 'sea-legs.' 'Sea-legs' being those things that supposedly made her _not_ feel like she was going to die with each push of a wave against their somewhat dingy, unmarked vessel. At some point there had also been a reason number three, but Anna was too busy fighting against bouts of seasickness hitting her stomach as the boat carried on to remember.

"Princess Anna!"

The girl groaned from the queasiness in her stomach. "I already told you, you aren't supposed to call me that anymore! I'm Lady Abeline of Corona!" She exclaimed, sitting up from her comfy spot on the bed and immediately regretting doing such.

"I'm sorry, I must've forgotten Princess—Lady…not-Princess-Anna."

She grunted, falling back onto her far-too-springy bed. "What is it?"

"The boat is docking now, we will be ready for you to leave within the half hour."

Suddenly she shot up again, eyes brimming with excitement. "Wait, you mean we're done?! Really? Do you think anyone's noticed us? Wouldn't they be at the docks by now if they had? Wait, what does it look like? Should I grab a coat or—"

The sailor wasn't quite sure when the questions stopped being directed towards him, but took a shot in the dark at answering some anyways. "It appears that we have gone undetected, and if you would like to come survey the main Island while we lower the ramp we would be happy to have you."

"Finally, land!" She sang, grabbing a shawl and running out the door. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see a floating rock!"

The warm sun kissed her freckled skin, causing her to drop the shawl weaved between her fingers and release herself from the confinements of her thick winter cloak fastened around her neck. "The sun!" She shouted, throwing her arms out with a twirl.

She only stopped twirling with a dreamy sigh, wondering if there was anyway she could bathe in such a sensation for as long as humanly possible. It was only then that she saw it. The sunny Southern Isles, so pristine and perfect that she swore it should've been present only on the canvas of a painting. "Wow…" She breathed, holding her hand to her face in surprise. "These are the Southern Isles…" Anna almost couldn't believe that a place so gorgeous could ever be associated with the dastardly Prince Hans.

For a long while she stood like that, mouth agape and disbelieving that such an island actually existed. That is, until she saw a familiar head of blonde hair bop up out of the crow for a brief moment. "K—Kristoff!" She jerked against the railing, regaining her balance as she hurriedly flew down the stairs to the ramp leading to the docks.

"Princess—Abeline! Anna—Or _whoever_, just wait! Queen El—sana instructed us to keep track of you!"

Anna had heard the cries from behind, but couldn't find the willpower to heed the sailor's warning.

"It's dangerous!"

"I'm sorry!" She yelled back, gathering her skirt in her hands while she ran. "But its true love!"

Hopefully the stunt wouldn't get the guard-turned-sailor fired…but she didn't have time to think about that now. Finding Kristoff right off the bat was like finding a needle before you even needed to start combing the haystack, she just couldn't let the oppourtunity slip out of her fingers again. "Kristoff!" There were at least three different heads of blonde hair bobbing above the swarms of people. He would respond if he had heard her right? "Kristoff? Kristoff, are you here? It's me, Ann—ya!"

Still nothing. Had he gotten away already?

Towards a route further back of the pier she swore her eyes caught another glimpse of his messy hair, prompting her to take off like a rocket once more. "Kristoff, I'm _sorry_!" She was dodging people left and right while keeping her eye fixated on the man leading her further and further into the unfamiliar town.

"Please answer me, I love you, I want to ma—" Apparently someone didn't appreciate Anna's desperate shoves to get through the thick swarms of people, which was confirmed to her plainly by the shove that she had felt particularly in her rear end that flung her directly into her target. "—rry you…?"

"…"

"…"

"…I appreciate the offer, I really do, but good lady I don't even seem to know your name." Somehow the blonde's smooth voice reminded her of something, though it unfortunately wasn't Kristoff. "Here, lets get you up." The man stood up in what seemed like one fluid motion, offering a gloved hand for her to do the same.

"I—I'm so sorry, oh this is so embarrassing, I was just running and you were supposed to be someone else—and then that guy just pushed me and I fell and—"

Laughing. He was laughing at her as she foolishly tried to explain herself through movements and words, both of which had seemed to have failed her.

"Clearly you're not from around here," She froze with the realization that half her 'genius' disguise had been left behind on the boat. "I'm Prince Henrik of the Southern Isles."

No wonder his voice sounded familiar. "Of the Southern Isles…like _the_ Southern Isles? This one, right here?" Suddenly she felt herself teeming with nervousness.

He offered her another chuckle, during which she began to realize that tallness must run in the family. "Do you always talk so much?" The way he emphasized the last part made her uneasy.

"Lady Abeline." She offered a timid curtsey. "That's my name, just…Abeline."

"_Just_ Abeline?" The calculating smile was not something she recognized in a good way. The cogs in his head were turning; she was going to have to get out of there fast.

"Yep, ordinary Abeline! Oh, well look at the time, I simply must get going—"

"Are you positively certain we haven't met before? I'm almost positive that I've seen your face, except I'm having trouble putting my finger on the name…" He moved in closer, now sporting a slimy smile that made her skin crawl.

It was time for plan B. "Look—what's that over there?!"

"Huh?" He turned, giving her a split second to run down an alley in the opposite direction. By the time he realized what she was doing with a chuckle, he averted his attention back to the newly vacant spot in front of him.

"Oh Hans," He smoothed a bit of golden hair back as his eyes followed the freckled figure running in the distance. "You always did manage to find the prettiest play things."

* * *

After she was convinced she was so far from the scarily sly Prince Henrik that shivers were no longer running up her spine, Anna braced herself against a wall while her lungs gasped for air with loud heaves. Of course this would happen to her. Not 2 minutes in the Southern Isles and she had already had the _pleasure_ of meeting another member of the royal family.

Breathing hard, she felt her body sliding down slightly as she came down from the mix of exhaustion and excitement.

Perhaps if he had been a less intimidating character then she wouldn't be so upset about meeting a Prince who shared a childhood with the same man who brought her heartbreak. But it wasn't just that, it was also the way he looked at her…it had felt almost violating. The way he pretended like he didn't know her, closing the gap between them as all the puzzle pieces slid into place and the memory clacked in his mind. How had he figured out so quickly that she was Arendelle's resident princess when the only person she had known from the Southern Isles was, hopefully but unlikely, locked up in a jail cell right now?

She took a moment to rub her fingers against her eyelids before moving them to her temples. There were too many thoughts permeating her mind when all she was supposed to be focusing on was how she was going to find Kristoff. She still had no idea where he could be and, as she was learning, the Southern Isles didn't seem to be getting any smaller or any easier to navigate.

"Are ya' lost?"

All at once she snapped out of her confused state to realize that she had finally caught her breath and that there was now a shadow looming over her. "It kinda seems that way, doesn't it?" She laughed cautiously, unsure as to what she should think about the new stranger in front of her as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I came here on a whim to look for someone but it seems I'm having no luck." Her lip pursed.

"Well I wouldn't stay 'round these parts." The man helping her was stocky, but had a sweet face that reminded her of an older version of Kristoff. "Down there's the more shady district, and the ladies 'round that part don't take ta' kindly to strangers honin' in on their territory."

"Honing in on their territory?" She stood up straight to brush some dust off of the back of her skirt.

He responded by leaning in, covering his voice with his hand in a whisper. "They're the male _escorts_, you see."

"Oh…" The phrase made her slightly uncomfortable.

"And they've been particularly upset about that Arendelle girl lockin' their favorite prince up."

She froze, eyes narrowing. "Arendelle girl?"

"Yep," He leaned in closer, for extra assurance that their conversation wouldn't be heard. "The Princess I hear, though I guess the Queen had a role in getting 'em in trouble too. Nobody's seen Prince Hans for weeks, but the rumours say he got a good whippin' before the King finally got 'em outta there."

She almost hesitated at what she was going to ask next. "And now?"

"Well nobody I knows has seen 'em personally. But I've 'eard he's still around, tryin' 'ta let others know about how the Princess and Queen tried to kill 'em."

"I'm sorry—what?!"

"Yep, Queen tried to freeze 'em solid while the Princess clocked him right in the nose!"

'And she didn't even regret it', is what Anna would've added. "And this is what_ he's_ saying?"

"The King must believe it too, since he's over there so much to probably try 'ta fix the bad blood between the countries. What more can he do though when the leaders of their Kingdom tried to kill our Prince? At first they were even tryin' ta' tell the royal family that Hans was the one causin' the trouble. Can you believe it? Prince Hans of all people! No one would ever believe that!"

"No, no they sure wouldn't." She never had been good at hiding her feelings, and she didn't imagine that she was doing so hot at it now. Anna was upset. Not just upset—she was angry. If she never saw that lame excuse of man ever again it'd still be too soon.

"…Did I miss somethin', dear?"

"N—No, nothing at all! Everything's completely normal!"

"S'my fault, you probably don't want to be hearin' too much about our countries problems, bein' a foreigner an' all." Finally he moved backwards, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. "Anyway, there's a pretty clean bar down that way if ya' need directions somewhere or a place ta' stay. It sees a lot of traffic nowadays, an' who knows, maybe they've seen the person you're lookin' for." He offered her a crooked smile, which was much appreciated after the hectic day she'd seen.

"No apology needed, you're just tryin' ta' help!" She stopped, evaluating how this man was starting to affect her speech.

"…Are you makin' fun'a how I—"

"Thank you so much!" She grabbed his hand and shook it quickly. "I owe you a lot, I'll head there now!" Letting go she pranced away, leaving the kind man wondering what had just taken place.

* * *

If this bar was considered 'clean,' Anna feared what a bar considered 'dirty' might look like. Though, to be fair, it wasn't like she traveled to bars often, if ever, so she supposed she couldn't really make a fair evaluation. But still, the mustiness in her nose, the smoke floating around and fogging the air along with the dimness of the lighting made her perplexed as to why anyone would willingly go to these places in the first place.

The toothless woman giving her a harsh look from her barstool probably wasn't helping either.

"Excuse—" Her foot caught on something that resembled a petrified chicken leg. "…Excuse me!" She approached the bar and popped her head over it.

The bartender was clearly unamused. "What're ya' drinkin'?"

"Oh no, I don't drink. Alcohol, I mean." He rolled his eyes. "I was just—" She put her feet on the bottom bar of a stool to give her more height. "I'm looking for someone and I want to know if you've seen him." He shot her an angry look. "…If that's okay."

"Sure, sure, I memorize every face that comes in here. I bet I can help ya' out."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up.

"Sarcasm."

"…Right."

"Look lady, people come in 'ere day in and day out from all around. The only faces I can recollect are the ones that come 'ere every morning 'til night, begging some sorry bar-goer for spare change so they can buy a beer. Yer friend fit that description?"

"Well no, but—"

"Then I can't help you, unless you'd like me to fix up a nice glass of apple juice for ya'." He started to walk towards another customer.

"But—you haven't even heard what I've had to say yet, he has a_ reindeer_!"

The bartender stopped, and Anna noticed a sudden change in the atmosphere. "You know this guy?" His words sounded like toxic lashes. "The one with the reindeer?"

"…Yes?"

Before she even knew what was going on she felt a hard clamp around her thin wrist, forcing her up onto the bar. "So then _you're _going to be the one who pays for the damage he caused, then, huh?"

"Damage?" She whimpered as he forced her body to turn towards a hidden corner with a somehow reindeer-shaped hole busted through it. "Oh, that damage."

"If he's not gonna pay then someone else has ta'!" Lifting her arm up, he raised a beefy fist to bring down on her, leaving her with only a frail hand to hold in front of her face as a weak barricade.

"Oh darling! There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Feeling the lack of pressure slamming against her caused her to peek an eye open at the voice that appeared to have spared her. However, immediately upon locking eyes with her Savior, she was starting to think that taking a beating from the bartender was a better option.

"Hans—?!"

* * *

**Notes:**

**Hans has entered the building folks!**

**Chapter Two! We've made it! Thank you all so much again for reading (if you've made it this far) I'm having a lot of fun writing this story! This chapter is a bit longer than I intended, I knew how I wanted it to end but I kept going through trial and error trying to figure out how to get there. Hopefully it's not too weird as I flopped around ideas and finally put it all down on paper! **

**I'm a little over half way through Chapter four so never fear, there is more on the way! And you can bet the next chapter is going to be a fun one indeed, I can't wait to post it but I must for the sake of spacing these guys out! **

**Thank you so much, **_**Steshin**_**, **_**Starwater09**_**, **_**Guest**_**, **_**Astrid Hofferman**_**, **_**Everlastingtrueromance**_** and **_**Marisa**_** for your comments! It makes me so happy and excited to see that people are enjoying this even after having only read the first chapter. There are so many places I want to take this story and I will try not to disappoint! **

**Also, a big thank you to everyone reading in general, I couldn't BELIEVE how many views this story already has and how many countries it has spanned across! Makes me all giddy and bubbly inside. Happy feels.**

**I hope to hear from you all, I'll keep working my hardest on this story and try to answer any questions that you have! **

**You guys are the best, seriously.**

**With (mucho grande huge amazing) love,**

**-BrittBerry**


	3. Chapter THREE

_**Deadlock**_

_Chapter THREE, The Method to the Madness_

"Hans—?!" Anna growled.

"Wait, like the Prince?"

"No, what my sweet cupcake meant to say was Hansel! Yes buttercup, your sweet Hansel is here!" He shot her a look and put a finger over his lips to indicate that she should stay quiet. "I see there is some confusion here between you and my _lovely _wife?" This guy would have to be a complete idiot if he didn't recognize the thick sarcasm attached to Hans' words.

"Wait—_wife_?!"

"Wife?"

"Of course! She disappeared after a large, savage-looking blonde buffoon with a dopey-eyed reindeer ran past us and managed to snatch my wallet. I told her not to go after him because I was afraid of what would happen if that oaf got his slimy hands on her, but she was too fast and I had to run after her into your tavern!" He took another careful step towards the duo, holding his hands up as if to prove that he wasn't trying anything funny.

"…So that's why she was lookin' for 'em then?" The bartender's stare veered back towards Anna.

"Honey?" Hans looked towards her, as if to imply she should speak.

"Yeah…yep, that's it! Except I don't remember him being nearly as _large, savage and buffoon-ish_ as my dear sweet husband seems to." The clear venom in her voice did not go undetected. "You must excuse my darling husband, you see he has a problem with his memory and sometimes tells tall tales that aren't always true." Her eyes didn't leave his for even one moment.

He responded with a fake laugh. "That's my wife! Quick as a whip, with a tongue sharper than a knife!" Finally Hans reached them, grabbing Anna's wrist to set it free when the bartender loosened his grasp in what was probably confusion. "You know, she always did have a nasty habit of _biting the hand that feeds her_, but lets just keep that between you an me." Despite the fact that he meant for the statement to be heard in secret, his volume level and hearty laugh said otherwise. "Now dear, lets get going before dark so that we can report the robbery to the guard!" It was extremely hard for her to take her pick between dying and letting Hans hold her waist as he helped her off the tall bar.

She looked at him with a sour face when he set her down, and he shot her the same, charming smile that she only knew was fake because she had gotten lost in it once before. "Thank you for taking care of her for me! We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience we could've caused you or your fine establishment." He bowed slightly, at which point Anna wondered how much of his pride he had to suck up to do so. "Good afternoon!" He nudged her. "Honey bun…"

"Ah—yes! Good afternoon!" She laughed with as much cheese as she could muster, halting everything immediately upon them exiting out the door.

* * *

Actions spoke louder than words (And Anna was never good with words), which is why instead of giving Hans the thorough tongue-lashing he deserved, she found her hand winding back for the punch.

"Ah, ah, ah." Though she had flung it forward, Hans had seen it coming and caught her fist in his own hand. "You're more brainless than I had imagined if you thought I would fall for that trick twice, Princess."

She attempted to remove her fist from his hand before the reality of how much stronger he was than her came to pass. But if things were going to go down like this, then Anna was not going to go down without a fight. Without a second thought she swung her free hand towards his stomach, which he dodged as he caught her at the wrist. "Woah, somebody clearly didn't forget to drink their tea this morning."

"Let…me…go!" She grunted, flinging her body around in an attempt to free herself from his clutches.

"So you want to do this the hard way?" She felt the slam of the tavern's exterior on her back before discerning that Hans had pinned her to the wall. "Because we can do this the hard way!"

Despite the strong grasp on her wrists, she still struggled. "Let me go this instant!"

Her screams continued while he maneuvered her wrists into one of his hands and used the free one to clamp over her mouth. "That thing I did back there, it was called saving your life! You might want to be a little quieter and listen to me before I inform the guards that a Princess of Arendelle is here unannounced." He said the last part with a sneer, freeing her mouth to further secure the grasp he had on her wrists. "I wonder what the King would think of that—A spy from Arendelle snooping around in the midst of all the tension between our Kingdoms."

For the sake of her sister she chose to bite her tongue, breathing heavily with a determined face after the physicality of fighting to be free of him.

"There, now that's the sweet little _cupcake_ Anna I know."

"Watch it." She spat, hoping he would let her go because she couldn't bear to be this close to him for any longer.

"I see you haven't lost your spunk."

"Why don't you just kill me already." Somehow it seemed that the angrier she got, the wider the grin of Hans' face stretched. "That's what you want, isn't it?"

"Actually I'm here to talk about what_ you_ want."

She couldn't think of anything he had that she could want. "What is that supposed to mean?" Her wrists adjusted, causing a pain to surge down her arm from how harshly he was holding her.

"A certain blonde haired imbecile, toting along his overnight pack with an abhorrent reindeer."

"Kristoff?!" In one swift moment her tough exterior broke, worry flooding her delicate features.

"Oh, I've hit a nerve, have I?" His laugh made something unsettling churn in her stomach.

"Please, what have you done with him? Is he okay? I'll do whatever if you just don't hurt him!"

"Calm down, I haven't done anything with your less than charming ice-boy." He shifted his hands against her wrists. "Promise you won't bite?"

She nodded because she didn't see any other option.

"Good," He started as she rubbed the red marks on her now free hands. "As you have a tendency to not do anything discreetly, I overheard that you were looking for Reindeer Games—"

"You mean Kristoff."

"Whatever," He brushed a stray hair from his brow before he continued. "What I'm trying to say is that I can help you."

"You know for a second I thought you might be Prince Hans, but then I heard the word 'help' come out of your mouth and now I'm quite unsure." She crossed her arms with a frown.

"Cut the cute, I'm not here to play games. I know where Kristoff is, or I can help you find him at least."

The name made another crack appear in her armour. "How do I know I can trust you? And why would you suddenly want to help me?"

"Think of it this way, you have something I want and I have something you want also." There was a moment of silence, which he chose to respond to after Anna failed to say anything. "Neither of us can move without the other. We're at an impasse—a deadlock."

"What could I possibly have that you would want?"

"My freedom."

She raised an eyebrow, looking at him like he was a complete loon.

"I see this warrants explanation." He shifted with a sigh. "Since our little endeavor last Summer things have been…less than ideal for me here. The summary is that I'm not allowed to leave this place or even the castle without a platoon of guards tracking my every move—"

"So where are those guards now?"

"I deceived a whole Kingdom into believing that I was their would-be King, you think I couldn't escape a few bumbling guards?"

She hated how much sense he was making. "Then why do you need me?"

"Because I can't keep dodging them forever, and the only way my father's agreed to let me do such is if I 'redeem' myself, which I can't do because your stubborn sister won't let me step foot on anything even remotely associated with Arendelle."

Stifling her laughter because of how cruel her sister could be was proving extremely difficult.

"Laugh all you want," His agitation only made holding it in harder. "But without me you'll never find your 'true love' and without helping you I'll never be able to leave this place."

Finally she silenced the giggles in one gulp. "And how am I supposed to know this isn't some elaborate plan to kill me?"

"You trusted me once—"

"And look where that got me."

"Your drive to find Kristoff trumps your fear of me killing you. Besides, there'd be no point in offing you now, it'd only make my problems run deeper and your whole Kingdom is already convinced that I'm the spawn of Satan."

He had a point. "Al...Alright." The words left her mouth with a bitter taste. "But I'm serious Hans, if you so much as _think _of double crossing me, 'dead' is what you wish you'll be and 'lock'—" She cursed her mouth for talking before she knew was she was even going to say. "And 'lock' will..."

"'_Lock_,'"

Oh no, she had given him an oppourtunity.

"'Lock,' is what you'll be doing with those pretty little lips of yours once you realize how lucky you are that _the_ handsome Prince Hans is assisting you in finding your plain country bumpkin."

"In. Your. Dreams."

"Try not to blush too hard, I'm not interested in children anyways." He waved a hand in front of his face before turning on his heel and walking away in the dimness of the sunset.

"I'm not a child!" She protested after him. "And where do you think you're going?"

"To grab my things, is that a problem?"

"I - don't - know." Choosing that answer somehow made her feel less stupid for asking.

"You're so needy." He sighed. "We'll meet by the pier in the morning, and try to wear something that makes it less obvious that you're the beloved Princess of some foreign Kingdom."

"I do have a disguise, thankyouverymuch."

He stopped, nudging a head back to her. "Oh heavens, its not something idiotic like a _shawl_, is it?"

"…"

"Just…meet me there at dawn, bring whatever you think you'll need for the journey." He resumed with a look the read like he severely needed a nap.

"Journey? Where are we going?" With a jolt she went after him, matching the speed his large strides with her short ones.

"Reindeer Games was at the docks this morning, I saw him boarding a boat while conversing with my brother—"

She cringed at the word, remembering the slimy man that she had accidentally proposed to.

"The vessel was headed to one of the many other islands in the Kingdom, if it had been one of the smaller ones than that would've been ideal, but it's a smaller island than this one nonetheless."

"And what am I supposed to tell the ones who brought me here?"

"Do I have to spoon feed you everything?" He snapped, causing her to shiver. "Tell them anything as long as you leave me out of it."

He continued walking away as she mimicked him silently. "A deadlock, he says." Muttering, she kicked a stone on the ground while still in disbelief about the whole thing. In what world did she ever imagine Hans, out of all people, being her only hope to get Kristoff back? Perhaps if she fell asleep she would wake up to find out that this was all a dream. A cruel, strange dream—maybe even a nightmare.

Or…definitely a nightmare.

* * *

**Notes:**

**Sorry it's a little shorter, the next one is longer I promise! This is just where I imagined the chapter ending…but hey, Hans is officially in the hiz-ouse! (whoop, whoop!) **

**Anyways…I know I say it every single time but THANK YOU again for how much love you are allshowing me. It is blowing my mind that a little project I did to start getting my thoughts out in a story is being read by so many wonderful people. It's been so fantastic and I do not deserve it!**

**A special thank you again to those beautiful commenters, **_**Guest**_**, **_**Guest**_**, **_**Guest**_**, **_**Nerdrus**_**, **_**Superstar9015**_**, **_**Steshin**_** (again! C:), **_**Ava-Potter gal**_**, and **_**Guest**_**! It makes me so giddy to see comments on my story and they are greatly appreciated! You are all the sweetest people ever! Also, thank you for everyone who is reading, I am still being floored everyday when I see the views on this. **

**U r all awesum.**

**But really, I thank so much because I am truly amazed and grateful. Thank you all c:**

**Also to answer **_**Guest**_**'s question, it's a secret ;) Okay fine, jokes. I didn't want to put it in the official 'couples' pairing brackets or whatever those things are…but this will end up as a story where Hans and Anna have an ending. There may be hints of Kristianna and the like alone the way, but as I kind of (but not effectively) tried to convey in the notes on Chapter One, this is my way to see Hans and Anna have an ending that isn't totally tragic. But we will see ;) there is much more to come! (Alcohol, anyone?)  
**

**Chapter Five is in the works right now, and it is coming along swimmingly! I'm having far too much fun with it (which could either be taken as good or bad…) so I hope this is enough to hold you all over until Chapter Four is released! **

**Again, sorry for the shortness and thank you for sticking with me through **_**Deadlock**_** so far. It seems to just get more and more fun to write/see this story develop! **

**I hope to hear from you all! **

**With even more love than last time,**

**-BrittBerry**


	4. Chapter FOUR

**_Deadlock_**

_Chapter FOUR, The Brawl in the Bar_

Only Hans could ruin the relief Anna felt after finally walking off that dreaded boat onto land, though she supposed 'ruining things' was his specialty.

She steadied herself on the railing of the ramp to calm the queasiness in her stomach.

At least the short jaunt there had been pretty decent, though they did have to take a public vessel to ward off suspicion that the 'infamous' Princess of Arendelle was suddenly in cohorts with the 'regal and perfect' Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. Luckily she hadn't minded that too much, because Anna always did have a knack for talking to others and loved to see their faces light up in a smile. Unless, of course, the reason they were smiling was because she had done something horribly awkward (which wasn't uncommon)…in that case the people who laughed only made the embarrassment run deeper.

"Oh, Anna, I almost forgot you were here." Hans approached jokingly before adjusting a part on his plain coat.

"Don't call me that!" She hissed, already feeling her skin crawling from the sound of his voice.

"Why, because you think someone will actually recognize you?" He sneered. "You're not even Queen."

Boy did he know how to make her anger bubble. "It's a safer idea than running around the ship and flirting with girls left and right!" She had to stop herself from getting louder. "You _are_ the Prince of this place, or did you forget that part?"

He shot her a calculated smile. "It wasn't just 'flirting.'"

"Ugh!" She almost had to cover her mouth for fear that she would throw up. "I did not need to know that."

He rolled his eyes at her lack of maturity. "You'd have to be a complete idiot to think that anyone would bother remembering the face of a man who is thirteenth in line for the throne. I can't even recall the last time I did any sort of public appearance, these foolish people don't even know my name."

"These 'foolish' people are still your loyal subjects." The words came out bitter at how heartless he could be.

"Yes, and I bet if I walked in the middle of town square right now and announced that I was a Prince of the Southern Isles they would all die from laugher. All they care about is their own greed, no one besides the King and the first heir matter to them because the rest are just spare parts looking for somewhere to go."

Amongst the sharp bite in his words, Anna almost thought she had felt a tinge of sadness. "You don't know that."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you have lived here your whole life and suddenly know my people." The ice in his response was thick.

"I don't even know why I bother. This will all go much faster if we just go our own ways and search for somewhere to sleep, though I doubt that, that will be a problem for you, seeing as you seem to have already found a number of beds to sleep in." She crossed her arm, features still contorted in animosity.

"Oh, is little Anna jealous?" He put a finger on her chin that she quickly ripped away from.

"Grateful that I never got the chance to marry you is more like it."

"Hm, weird because I seem to remember it differently." She frowned. "'Hans, you have to kiss me!'" He mocked in a desperate tone.

"Sorry that I like to believe people have good intentions! I'd much rather be someone like that than to be an empty, cold hearted, stupid-haired jerk like you!"

"Wow, 'stupid-haired,' you're really stepping up your game there, aren't you?"

The fist she had balled her fingers into was so tight that she thought her hand might bleed. "That's it! I'm leaving, you can do whatever you want but I'm going to find somewhere to stay since you don't seem too concerned with any of this."

"Good, because I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever leave." He spoke as she turned and bumped into somebody, who she offered a sincere apology to. "I'd be careful if I were you. This isn't Arendelle, people aren't always as nice as you think."

In one fast movement she flipped back around. "Unlike you, not all people have some sort of evil ulterior motive in mind!"

He nudged his head towards her. "Check your pockets."

"Why," Despite the attitude she was giving him she complied with his demand. "So you can see where my coin is before you rip it from me while I'm not loo—wait, where'd my money go?"

This time he nudged his head towards the tall, rail-thin man that she had just bumped into.

"Wait…wait—no! Sir, come back…I really need that!" She waved before her feet started moving towards him, leaving Hans to his own devices.

He looked onwards with a sigh, rolling his eyes before turning in the opposite direction.

* * *

This recent pattern of going into new cities and losing her way had had to stop. Anna had already spent an hour trying to follow the man who had swindled her money so easily that it thoroughly disturbed her. And, unfortunately, that effort didn't end in anything but another two hour long journey to get back to where she started in the hopes that Hans would be there waiting for her with an annoying 'told you so' look on his face.

The thought made her scowl.

Now that she had no way of payment, options that didn't include seeking the green-eyed Prince's help were limited. Hans would definitely have lots of money to spare such as she used to, but the real question was if he would actually use it to help her out. If she hadn't downgraded to her less expensive clothing she would just sell that and probably have enough for a modest-sized room...however she didn't.

So now she was here.

'Here', being at the desk of an inn, with hopes that there was some way the innkeeper would allow her to stay without any proper payment.

"Please, there's got to be something I can do—some way I can repay you for the room if you'd let me stay!"

"Could you imagine what would happen if I let just anyone with a pretty face waltz on in here and stay for free?" The innkeeper asked, leaning towards her from over the desk.

"Yeah, but I'm telling the truth! I don't have any money, it was all stolen and I just got here yesterday so I just need one night to get back my footing." The man opened his mouth to respond again but she cut him off. "I'll do anything—I can wash dishes! Clean your floors…" An exasperated noise left her lips. "Please."

For a moment there was silence, him looking her over with his arms crossed before a helpless sigh came. "…There's probably some work the cook or bartender could have you do. There's a constant pile of dishes and never enough workers to make a dent in them."

She almost didn't realize what he was saying until he pointed his finger towards the tavern area of the inn. "Wait—you mean?!"

"This is a one time offer, don't go telling all your friends I did this for you."

"Thank you!" She jumped across the desk, grabbing the man in a hug that Anna was too exited to notice was incredibly awkward. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! And no—you sure won't regret it! Why, I'll wash those dishes so hard they won't know what hit 'em! They call me the washing Queen back where I'm from, the Dish-Wash-inator! Where're those dishes, let me at 'em!" She continued rambling on after he had finally directed her away from the desk and towards the tavern at the other end of the building.

Strangely, there was no one at the bar when she arrived. "Hello?" She asked with the thought to look for some sort of bell to ring. "I'm here to help wash the dishes?" The question seemed to fall on deaf ears, or no ears really, considering that there was no one else in the dark, wooden building.

"Hm." A defeated sound came as she began to wonder if this was all a joke. Maybe the man just told her she could help and stay just to get her out of his face. After all, what kind of bar had people working in it in broad daylight?

The small woman took a seat on a barstool, flopping her head onto the bar just as her ear perked out at the light chatter of others.

"People?" She asked, looking to an almost hidden, more private party-ish looking room behind her.

Anna made a suspicious look left and right before taking it upon herself to walk in and see a pair of men laughing about a joke that she must've just missed. "Um, hi, I'm here to help clean the dishes, the guy at the front desk told me to—" Her voice hitched in her throat after her eyes focused on the thinner male further.

"_You_." She blurted out, looking straight into the eyes of the man who had stolen her money from across the room.

The tall thief looked towards her lazily before he nudged his friend with an elbow and whispered something into his ear. "You lost, honey?"

"Don't you call me 'honey'!" Anna stomped right up to the table they were sitting at and swiped a couple of bills that had been strewn across it. "You stole this from me!"

"Woah, woah, no need to get upset here." He waved his arms in defense, slowly standing up to suddenly make her realize how small she was in comparison. "I'm sure there's a logical reason for your confusion."

Despite the height difference she still looked up at him sternly. "The confusion?"

"Yes, because I'm fairly certain…" He took her hand in his and crushed it to the point at which she was forced to let go of the bills with a yelp. "That those are mine." He grinned in a devious way that scared Anna.

Her vision shifted as the stockier spare friend stood up with a sleazy smile and started towards her so that she was boxed in.

Oh, was she in trouble now.

"Y—you better watch it, misters, or I'll…"

"You'll what?" She could smell the alcohol on the man's breath as he leaned in and took a creepy whiff of her hair.

"You'll answer to me."

"Hans!" Inwardly, she let out a sigh of relief then made a face. 'Relief' and 'Hans' were not two words she'd normally put together.

"Who?" The man turned back towards her, confused.

"Anna, you should probably run—"

Hans didn't get to finish, because before he did Anna had twisted the crooks arm around and taken the liberty of kneeing him in the most sensitive area. "Taking people's things isn't nice!"

There was a visual spot of pain in Hans' expression of disbelief. "Was that reallynecessary?!"

"He stole my money! And crunched my hand!"

"So?! You don't have to instantly kick him like tha—watch out!"

The words registered just in time for her to dive down as the other man swung a fist in the air.

"Of course you managed to make enemies with both of them." He mumbled, leaping towards the man who continued to pursue Anna. "Didn't anyone tell you it's not becoming of a man to prey on an innocent child?" With a loud bang and cool exterior, Hans slammed the chubbier of the men into the wall while holding him at the shoulders.

"I'm sorry—child?!" Anna huffed, staggering up with a wince while Hans wrestled to keep the man down.

"You really need to learn who your enemies are instead of constantly trying to fight me." Hans sneered then shoved him against the wall again, making the room rattle. "Figure out a way to stop this guy before he squashes both of us!"

Anna nodded just as the man started to struggle harder.

"You think I can be held down by a sissy boy like you?!" The man crudely captured both of Hans's wrists and used them to violently thrust him away and onto the creaky, wooden flooring. With a malicious smile he then walked to hover over him and raised a set of large fists to slam onto Hans' stomach…

Until, that is, a saltshaker clocked him directly in the face.

"Ow—!" For a moment he stopped, rubbing the red mark on his cheek before looking to see Anna breathing heavily with an outstretched arm. "You hit me!"

He tried to take a step forward, towards Anna, but it was no use because Hans had long since seen the oppourtunity to grab the man by his legs and topple him face-first into the ground with a shake.

Anna and Hans both stayed silent, waiting. Waiting and staring at the clunky man sprawled across the floor before looking to each other after they had finally realized that he wasn't getting up.

"Well that was far more difficult than it need to be." Hans spoke first, holding his shoulder while twisting it around.

Anna only responded with a borderline embarrassed scoff. "I could've taken them on my own."

"Oh yeah?" He stood to approach her, rubbing ungloved hands together to clean them of the dirt they had gained while on the floor of the tavern. "Because this—" He squeezed a spot on her side with his fingers, causing her to wince. "Says otherwise."

"Don't you dare touch me." She moved away, holding the area where she knew a bruise would form from her lack of 'sophisticated grace' while diving. "Why did you bother anyways?"

"Simple," She noticed the aggravation in his usually charming features. "You had something I needed."

"Oh, right, how could I have ever forgotten that the great Prince Hans only ever cares about himself! Silly me, for a second I almost thought you were human!"

"Don't act like you're the victim here, princess. Might I remind you that this is the second time I've saved your life after you decide to blindly walk into a dangerous situation and all I get is more grief. That's all it is with you—whine, whine, whine—would it kill you to give me some sort of grateful notion or 'thank you' for the trouble?"

"I didn't ask you to—"

"You and you." The new voice entered in sharp, causing the tense pair to turn and see a very upset-looking innkeeper. "Out, now."

"Wait, wait this is all one big misunderstanding!" Anna started with a sheepish laugh, waving her hands and walking towards him as Hans shot her a look reading like he already knew she would fail. "You see—"

"_Now_."

She opened her mouth to explain herself further but was cut off by Hans. "Understood." He said, grabbing the arm of a slightly stunned Anna and leading her out.

* * *

The two didn't say another word to each other for, what felt like to Anna, the next half of the day. Hans continued to walk forward while she followed behind in his footsteps from a distance. Partly due to the fact that she was still slightly upset, but also partly because she felt almost…guilty. Even if he was only helping her out for his own selfish advancement, it was wrong of her to chastise him for doing so.

All of her ugly attributes always had intertwined with her pride, and it would seem this case was no different.

Though, despite this realization, it seemed that no matter how many times her mouth opened to say something, she couldn't help but feel it was wrong to thank a man who had earlier committed high treason in their formerly innocent land of Arendelle.

But she couldn't just walk in silence like this for the rest of their trip, talking was probably the only thing that matched her love for chocolate. Being quiet to let things settle just wasn't in her nature. "So, Hans, where exactly are we going anyways?" He didn't flinch at first, which didn't surprise her considering the circumstances. "I mean—we've been walking for a while and, to be honest, the island isn't all that big so there's got to be something you're looking for, right?" Still no answer, even as she started to quicken her pace to close the gap between them. "Okay, I get it, you're mad, and maybe I should have handled the situation better but its not like we're trying to be best friends here, we just need to be civil until—"

"I already booked a spot at an inn before our little happenstance."

She was visually startled by the sudden outburst and had to compose herself before continuing. "You mean like 'a spot' or 'spots'…?"

"We're not in the same room if that's what you're insinuating." Finally, he glanced towards her. "No need to hold the tears because of your _utter_ disappointment on my account."

"Don't worry, I'm not." She wasn't amused by his taste for sarcasm. "And—uhh—Hans…?"

She could see him roll his eyes as he shot another look towards her. "Do you ever shut up or is it just not in your capacity to keep that trap close for more than three seconds?"

"Would you just listen for a moment?!" All at once she halted, the suddenness of her action making Hans do so also.

"Your wish is my command, Princess."

If she was ever Queen, the first thing she was going to do was ban sarcasm. "I just…its…" She took a deep breath in. "I want you to know that I don't appreciate the way that you treated me or my sister, and honestly I don't think that there will ever be a way I can trust you because of it. You're manipulative, cold, calculating, frightening, and lying comes as a second nature to you…but you also saved my life and I should have acknowledged it somehow so…thank you."

There was a period after that where Hans looked her over, most likely taking note of how hard it had been for her to push the words from her reluctant lips. "'You know for a moment I thought you might be Princess Anna, but then I heard the words 'thank you' come out of your mouth and now I'm quite unsure.'" He mimicked with what she thought had been a mischievous grin before turning back to face forward.

"Ha, ha, Hans, very funny." The small-framed girl rested her hands on her hips. "Laugh all you want now, because you will never be hearing me repeat those words ever again."

Somehow her words only made him smile wider. "I'll keep that in mind for the next time you stupidly walk into a fight with a man who is twice your size."

"How about you just tell me where the room is so I can find it later."

"Sure, whatever." He shoved a piece of paper into her hands. "Try not to get lost, I'm not going to go after you if you do."

"Ah, how _charming_ you are, I think I'm beginning to feel weak in the knees." She rolled her eyes as he walked away.

Finding Kristoff without his nasty attitude looming around was a far better option anyways.

* * *

**Phew! Hey everybody c:**

**I know its horrible of me to talk about chapters that aren't released yet, but I am so, so, SO excited for you all to read chapter five! I just finished it yesterday and am already ploughing through chapter six. Oh, how great it is to finally be writing the fun parts that I've been playing over and over in my head! **

**REGARDLESS—thank you all again for reading! I seriously appreciate it a ton and love all of you! Your support makes me oh so happy to be posting chapters and continue writing!**

**Now to respond to some reviewers, c: **

_**Steshin**_**: Girl you are one rockin' taco. I really appreciate all your comments and it makes me happy to know that you are enjoying this story! Hans' snarky sarcasm is proving to be extremely entertaining to write! His redemption is definitely in the process of what I'm writing now, I hope you will enjoy it when I finally get it posted!**

_**Ava-Potter Gal**_**: I'm excited for you to read it! I hope it did not disappoint c:**

_**Marisa**_**: Just you wait and see ;) Me too, but its possibly because I'm obsessed with his voice actor Santino Fontana…**

_**XTheAuthorThatNeverWasX**_**: Thank you! Well I figured all bets are off now, he has no reason to pretend like he's her 'Prince Charming' any longer! Update wish, GRANTED!**

**Also, a large thank you to every single reader who is following along with this! I don't think I can repeat this enough, you're all what make this story so fun to write and plan for. I've even been toying with the idea of a bonus chapter, but we will see where that idea takes me ;)**

**You're all the best and I look forward, again, to hearing from you!**

**Hope you enjoyed **_**Deadlock**_** chapter four, chapter five will be up soon, I promise! I'm way too excited to post it!**

**-BrittBerry**


	5. Chapter FIVE

**_Deadlock_**

_Chapter FIVE, Weddings and Wine_

"Wake up."

"Mmmm…" Anna stirred against the soft folds of her bedding, momentarily considering complying to the strange voice's request, but forgetting it once she had found another comfortable sleeping position. "It's okay, I'll be out in a second." The words came slurred because of her sleepiness.

"Seeing how dreadful you currently look, I highly doubt that's possible."

"Nnn…no. Don't worry it's fuh-ine." A yawn altered the last part of her phrase when she snuggled up next to a stray pillow. It was only then, when she was right at the point of being flung headfirst back into the lull of sleep, that something horrendous clicked in her head. "'Look'?!" She shot up immediately to see Hans standing beside her. "Hans?! What are you doing in my room, get OUT!" Anna smacked him with a pillow, which didn't seem to faze him much.

"Good morning to you too." He smoothed his hair back in a way that was reminiscent of his brother, Henrik. "I see you've really been delving deep into your 'Kristoff research.'"

"What part of 'get out' do you not understand?!" She growled, holding a pillow to her chest. "You've been peeping on me all this time and—"

"Relax, I haven't been in here for more than two minutes, and besides I'm not too fond of 'peeping' at—"

"Children, I _know_." Her face scrunched up in anger.

"Actually, I was going to say 'at unsuspecting women,' but your answer works as well."

A sound emitted from her mouth that sounded like pure irritation.

"Regardless, you need to get up so we can look for Reindeer Games."

"His name, is Kristoff!" By now she could feel her anger pumping hard through her veins.

"Well aren't you just a little spitfire in the morning?" Hans rolled his eyes, walking over to her dresser to pick up a brush and look at it in idleness.

Suddenly she found herself too tired to deal with his constant stream of sarcasm. "Could you just leave so that I can get dressed?"

"Oh, I think we both know you'd much prefer it if I stayed." He shot her a seductive smile, finally setting down the brush just as another pillow came flying in his direction.

"Get. Out."

"Oh, Anna." Hans had long since sidestepped the projectile sleeping aid and graced his presence by her bed as she held a soft set of comforters towards her chest.

"What're you—" The words caught in her throat when she felt a grab at her chin, forcing her attention towards him.

"Just because you tell yourself something over and over again doesn't make it true."

For an egotistical, natural born killer, he sure had an annoyingly charming smile. "I don't know which one of your little games you're trying to play with me, but I don't appreciate it. Leave, _please_."

"No game," He let go, his face settling into a satisfied smile. "I just like to rile you up now and again is all. Which doesn't seem very hard to do, by the way." She heard his laugh outside the door long after he had shut it.

"I will never stop hating you." She scowled, throwing off the bedding and beginning to collect various articles of clothing.

* * *

The pointedly pompous prince was far too busy chatting up an unsuspecting townswoman to notice Anna after she had finally got dressed and had left the inn. "Of course." She mused to herself, scanning the crowd for the head of blonde hair that would put her out of the abhorrent misery of being forced to cooperate with Hans.

Naturally her brief search was only satisfied by disappointment, which didn't feel any greater when she noticed her would-be 'guide' of sorts writing something down on the woman's parcel that looked like a room number.

The sight made her slap her face and pull a set of, once pretty, features down slowly. "Seriously?" She asked herself. "I don't have time for this." With the ticking clock on her mind she strolled right over to the pair, hardly even waiting for any type of acknowledgement from either party.

"Okay—um, excuse me." She chirped a second before she felt two sets of eyes land on her significantly smaller figure. "Yeah, okay, got all your attention now, that's just grand." Hans was shooting her a look that advised her to leave. "Anyways—I know you have this thing going on and all, but I really got to take this guy from you for a few hours or so, not a big deal." Anna couldn't help but notice the growing frustration in Hans' eyes and lacked the restraint to want to make it run deeper. "It's just his wife gets so angry when she finds out about his little misadventures with—oh, sorry, what's your name?"

The woman, clearly appalled only answered with a curt, "Cecil."

"Cecil? Oh, right—Cecil! The one he was with last week, right?"

"Last week?!"

"Ooo, seem to have hit a nerve there. Awkward." A small smile started to form in the center of Anna's lips.

Hans, seething in hate from his spot by the woman, offered his former fiancée a look that Anna thought could very well kill her in the right circumstances. "Of course, my sweet and precious _wife_." Anna had been quite proud of herself until she felt the disgusting sensation of Hans' arm slip around her and pull her close.

"What—"

"My sweet little _wife_, all jealous because I'm here with this gorgeous young lady." A husky voice cooed in her ear while she struggled slightly against him. "Alas, it seems the truth has come out that this mousy woman here is, indeed, my wife. However, it would be deceiving of me to say that our marriage hasn't taken a turn for the worst…." She felt like gagging until a pair of lips started towards her own, making her jolt backwards. "See? She doesn't even have the love in her heart to kiss me anymore." He gave a dramatic sigh. "The separation has been a long process, so I took it upon myself to keep a look out for someone who can fill that empty hole in my life that was once filled by the love that my wife and I had for each other."

"I can't believe you." Anna squirmed more until he eventually let her free. "No one would believe that sack of lies—"

"That's simply _horrible_! To be stuck in a loveless marriage without any hope of happiness!" Anna had no words as she stared, mouth gaping, at the woman who was now resting a gentle hand on Hans'. "Of course I'll meet you tonight, it must be so hard for you." She offered him a kind smile before taking the time to shoot Anna a nasty, satisfied look as she turned to walk away.

"Are you being serious with me right now?!" She put her hands on her hips as Hans opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the continuation of her rant. "You think that you can just get away with convincing every girl that you're some type of victim who needs pity?"

Hans took an uncaring moment to look at his fingernails. "It worked pretty well with you."

Her face told him that she didn't appreciate the comment. "Could you at least pretend like you care about other people?"

Lazily, he rolled a pair of green eyes back in her direction. "I got a clue on your beloved prince of the ice last night. If you would've taken less than an hour to get all of your clothing together I never would've been bored enough to toy with that woman and we could be well on our way by now."

"You heard something about Kristoff? Did someone see him?! Did he leave town? Did—?!"

"I know these words are foreign to you, but 'calm down.'"

Immediately she silenced, looking up at him with a large pair hopeful eyes.

"Good girl." He patted her on the head while she gave him an inappreciative face. "A woman told me last night that she knew of a tavern that recently hired a large, blonde haired help to assist in breaking blocks of ice in exchange for him staying there. Sound like someone you know?"

"That's great!" She clapped her hands. "So we know where he is?"

"She didn't have the exact name, but remembered it being somewhere towards the south end. I figure there can't be too many taverns around, and your little boyfriend, much like yourself, never did have a knack for being discreet."

She ignored the blow to her personality and continued with a wide-eyed look. "Then what are we doing here? We have to go now—before its sunset…before he leaves again!"

Hans' eyes watched her worrying figure as various thoughts and scenarios danced through her mind. "Oh dear, you didn't think I was coming with you, did you?"

All at once Anna stopped, lowering her arms slowly. "That was part of the deal."

"Oh, I see, so this is your excuse to spend time with me? You just_ can't_ stay away, can you?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "_You_ were the one who snuck into my room this morning, remember? I don't want to spend any more time with you than I have to, but you clearly know the city better than me. The deal was you bring me to Kristoff and I'll vouch for your 'redemption.'"

His eyebrow rose. "Weird, because I don't remember any part of this 'deal' where I have to personally bring you two back together."

"If you want me to talk, then take me to the tavern." The look on her face made it obvious that she took pride in having a solid bargaining chip.

The pair's eyes locked on each other, staring in anticipation as to who would break the silence first. "Fine." Hans broke, flipping around to continue south. "But the moment I see Reindeer Games, I am long gone."

"For the last time—his name is _Kristoff_!"

There were far more taverns in the south end than Hans had initially thought…

Anna looked towards the redhead as he moved his jaw in what was probably a mixture of bewilderment and anger.

* * *

Scratch that—far, far, _far_, more.

Ice blue eyes stared down the seemingly endless rows of taverns that appeared to be gaining more liveliness as dusk overtook the district. Apparently the 'south end' of this island marked the place where one would go if they needed to _forget_. Forget about sorrows through drink, forget about debt through gambling, and especially to forget about your wife through another woman.

Anna moved her eyes forward as a scantily dressed lady called to her mate in a singsong voice. Luckily he had been too concentrated to pay attention, because she was quite certain he would've taken the bait...and she did not want to be alone in these parts. "We've already been to ten taverns, there can't be that many more to go, right?" Her eyes lingered on the woman, who was now directing a kissy face towards Anna, a little longer before she looked back to Hans.

Somehow he seemed to look more distressed than herself. "She said the South End was the place he'd be."

"….Thaaat didn't really answer my question." She started slowly with the thought that Hans might be losing it. "Are you okay, maybe you need a nap or something—"

"I'm fine." He snapped. "I just didn't know there were so many bars down here, he could be at any one of them. We could be searching all night at this rate."

"Apparently Kristoff has more of a 'knack' for being discreet than you thought."

He shot her a glare that shut her snippy mouth up rather quickly. "Why don't you help out for a second here, princess? He is your muse after all—do tell me, which one of these taverns would he have taken a shine to?"

Anna pursed her lips, looking down the row of lighted taverns for something that caught her eye. "….Oh!" In a fast movement she pointed towards one with a slight jump. "That one—'Reindeer Run'! He'd definitely go there!"

"Of course, how could I have forgotten your boyfriend's borderline creepy affinity for reindeer?"

"Stop being a smart aleck and lets go!" She gave him a shove from behind that caused him to topple forward.

"Ugh, whatever. The moment I see his garish face though, I'm gone." He fixed he coat from the tumble and followed after the girl who had long since grabbed the door handle.

"…Sounds loud in there." She observed, almost a bit nervous to enter and hear how Kristoff would explain himself.

"No way are you backing out of this now." Hans approached before taking a spot by her. "We're going in and that's—" A loud 'bang' sounded when he swung open the door to reveal a rather rowdy looking party in full swing. "…That?"

The crowd halted and the sound died down upon seeing the two new visitors, which made Hans take a careful step back until a person towards the front raised a glass.

"More visitors!" Everyone cheered after the person's outburst just as Anna felt a sea of hands forcing her and Hans deeper and deeper into the fray.

"N—No, you must be mistaken, we're only here to find—"

The sensation of a cold glass hit Anna's hand. "Drink!" A man with a red face laughed. "Tonight we must honor the marriage of Arnold and Helga!"

"Marriage?" She asked, looking down towards the brew in her hand with a disgusted face. "This is a mistake, you see we don't know of anyone named Helga or Arnold."

An older, thin woman leaned towards Anna. "He doesn't care, if it were up to him the whole town would be here drinking with us right now! The best way to get him off your back is to do what he says." She winked before looking back to the drunk, boisterous man that Anna assumed was her husband.

"I'm very happy for them, really, its just I don't drin—" This time she was cut off when the man's hand forced the drink to her lips while yelling the word "drink!," repeatedly.

She choked as he and his wife laughed. "It's not—" She coughed again, taking a moment to wipe the liquid from her face. "It's actually…not that bad, it tastes just like juice! Is this juice?" Anna smiled.

"Yeah, yeah! Just like juice!" He laughed even harder before his wife took over. "Drink all you like dearie, it is this tavern's 'special juice' after all!" She started to chuckle along as well.

"Well I suppose…there's no reason to spoil the occasion!" A titter resonated in her throat also as she took another swig of the sweet mixture.

By that time Hans had pushed through swarms of people to finally reach a giggling Anna. "We've got to get out of here, blondie doesn't seem to be working. I'd rather not flaunt our faces around these crowds anymore than we have to—wait, what is that you're drinking?"

"Relax! Its just juice, these kind people gave it to me! We should stay for a while, Arnold and Helga just got married!"

"Arnold and Helga, who are earth are you talking about?" He eyed the emptying drink in her hand. "Anna, you're drinking that far too fast, let's go."

The girl in question felt Hans grab her arm but quickly pulled it free. "No, we're staying!" She noticed her cup grow heavy as the older woman poured more drink into it. "These people just got married and it would be rude of us to not celebrate!"

Hans looked towards her with a defeated look, knowing that making a large scene in front of her new friends probably wasn't a good option. "Do whatever you want Anna, but don't blame me for whatever happens afterwards."

"Stop being such a party poo—" She took a moment to stumble. "Pooper!" The sound of another glass being poured behind her caused her ear to perk up. "Now by decree of the royal family of Arendelle, I order you to drink!" She shoved a drink in Hans' direction.

He grabbed it from her hand and set it on a nearby table. "You sure are a lightweight, aren't you?"

"I have no—_hic_—idea what that means…" Watching her take another large gulp was like watching a train wreck.

"It means you need to stop drinking so quickly, you've already gone through two cups since I got here."

"Juice, Hans, juice." Somehow she had managed to weasel around him and shove the cup back in his hands. "Just have fun!"

Somehow Hans highly doubted that she would be having any sort of 'fun' tomorrow morning.

* * *

"And it's the first time since forever, that I'm getting what I'm dancing of! It's the first time now to sever—!"

"Anna you're not making any sense, what are you even singing?" Hans adjusted his arm around the clearly inebriated girl as he led her through the empty town square. Despite the fact that she seemed to be such a lightweight, Anna was still up and running after a number of drinks that he had been sure were going to put her in a coma. There was really no reason she should be awake right now aside from the fact that he had spent every spare moment trying to force her to drink water in between her tangos with various 'juice' cups.

"It's the song to congradulate our friends, Harnold and Aelga!" She stumbled in a fit of giggles, resting more weight onto Hans.

"Arnold and Helga."

"Oh look! The sea shore!" He felt the weight of her body on his own lighten as she took a sprint towards the docks.

"Hey, wait! You can't just run off like that!" Aggravation was clearly in his future.

"Because why?!" She yelled from across the square. "Because mister fancy pants princey-prince Hans can't admit that a girl can run faster than him?"

"If you're trying to get my goat its not going to work, honey."

The comment must've angered her, because before he even knew what was going on, Anna had marched up in front of him. "You think you're so—_hic_—clever, and charming, and good-looking, and handsome—"

"…Go on." He smiled slyly, wondering how much more ammo he could get out of her for tomorrow.

"But—!" She flung a finger towards the bridge of his nose. "I know you."

"Really now? You know me?"

"Yes!" She leaned in, in a way that Hans knew sober-Anna would find uncomfortable. "You're a pusher."

"…A pusher?" His body moved backwards slightly, which didn't seem to detour her as she took another step towards him.

"A pusher! You push, push, and push people out because you'r—_hic_—you're afraid." He felt her lean on him again as she staggered forward and tripped against his larger frame. "You're no different than my sister—afraid that others won't like who you really are, so instead you create this charismic—"

The word she was most likely looking for was '_charismatic_.'

"—fuddy duddy, JERK who doesn't feel anything so that you won't get hurt." He could smell the alcohol on her words as she breathed out the last part. "But I know better. Beneath that smile, you're hurting. You—" Anna hiccupped and stumbled again before grasping to Hans' shirt for balance. "You want to be loved so badly, but greed is all you know, so you…you stick with that."

Though she had stopped talking, Hans didn't quite know how to respond.

In the silence Anna rested her head on his shoulder, making the careless decision to speak against the fabric of his coat. "I do it too."

He turned his head slightly towards the auburn mess of hair against his blade.

"Pretend that things don't bother me when they really do." He felt the grip on his coat tighten. "Sometimes I even try to pretend…" Her head lifted up and a tired pair of blue eyes landed on his own. "I try to pretend that you didn't hurt me as much as you did…try to pretend like I don't still think about it."

Something strange surged through his chest. "…When you put it that way, I suppose I am a little deserving of the title 'fuddy-duddy,' aren't I?" A dry laugh escaped a pair of narrow lips.

An all-too-familiar sort of pain continued to grow the longer her warm face clashed against staring at his colder features.

"Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, you—" She tripped backwards and luckily caught herself when Hans had failed to. "You—you should stop moving so much." A delicate hand flew to her hair in a lame attempt to still the dizziness in her head. "Everything is so…"

"Whoa there, tiger, lets try to not smash our head into the cobblestone." A pair of hands held Anna from behind to stable her.

"…flippy." Suddenly her body went limp, and the last thing she could remember was the scent of Hans and the sound of the ocean against a backdrop of swirling stars.

* * *

**Whoo, chapter five is over! **

**As always, I'd like to start out with thanking all you for reading so far! It's an awesome journey and I'm still enjoying the ride. I kind of finished my plans for this story last night, and instead of the 8-ish chapters I promised in the beginning, it looks like it will probably be closer to 10! We will see though, somehow it could still end up with 9, but with the way chapter 6 is going, I highly doubt it cx**

**Enough of that boring stuff though, time to respond to YOU!**

_**XTheAuthorThatNeverWasX**_**: You are most welcome c: I'm glad you think its funny, I love writing the banter between Anna and Hans…I almost don't want it to end but I know it must as things progress! Ahhhhh~**

_**Guest**_**: Thank you! It was really fun trying to figure out exactly how I figured Hans would act when all the titles are stripped away, I'm actually quite pleased with the result! And perhaps you will see family ;) but not soon, unfortunately. Never fear though, closeness is on its way! Anna is getting far too distracted by Hans tee hee!**

_**Ava-Potter gal**_**: Yeah, she was a big stinker about the whole thing! Hopefully they'll break each other down and things will be able to get less crazy ;) Thanks for reading!**

_**SoftApplePie**_**: Oh my gosh, thank you! I really wanted for it to feel like more a continuation than something totally off the grid, so I'm really glad that you caught that! Luckily you didn't have to wait terribly long for this chapter to be posted, number 6 is on the way and a lookin' good! Seriously, your review is so sweet I really appreciate it…especially since I am not a writer at all! C: **

**And of course, to everyone who reads…another big thank you! I will keep writing and try not to disappoint, a clear-cut plan of action is definitely underway B-)**

**Much love,**

**-XOXO BrittBerry**


	6. Chapter SIX

_**Deadlock**_

_Chapter SIX, Reeling for the Ring_

Pounding.

A harsh, severe pounding toppling over itself in Anna's brain caused her to stir in the bed. Everything from her head down her feet was pulsing in aches and pains that she hardly remembered receiving. "What happened?" She breathed out through the onslaught of hurt while shielding her eyes from the sun.

The last thing that she could register was being pulled into a rowdy affair by a group of people that were far too happy for her to think of pleasantly at the moment. There was also something about laughing, Hans, and a red coloured juice, but everything was blurred together to the point that she couldn't separate them.

The bedding next to her moved slightly. She wasn't alone, not in her bed at least. Cautiously, she turned her limited vision to the side to catch a glimpse of her cocky, ginger haired companion next to her. "You?!" She yelled out in a similar fashion as the morning prior, immediately putting a hand to still the pain in her head when she instinctively jolted back at the outburst.

Hans moved only a little bit from his spot on top of her covers, lifting an arm to stop the sunlight from penetrating his eyes as well. "What is it?"

"What are earth—" She stopped to realize that yelling with herself in such a state wasn't such a good option, so she opted for a harsh whisper instead. "It's bad enough I wake up to you standing over my bed yesterday, but now you're lying along side me _on _it?! What ever made you think this was okay?!"

Anna heard him let out a sigh. "You asked me to stay, remember?"

She froze in response; lowering the covers she had pulled up to her chest despite the fact that she was still dressed in the same clothes as the night prior. "That's a lie, I would never do that."

He hardly moved. "Believe what you want but that's what happened."

Her head turned downwards, looking towards the sunrays across the bed before she figured out what to ask next. "So then…what did happen?"

"You really want to know?" Behind his hand she could she the start of a calculated smile.

"Wait—we didn't, no…did we?!"

"Relax, nothing like _that_ happened." She waited for him to make a comment about her being a 'child,' but he never did. "You just drank too much that's all, kept going on about how it wasn't alcohol but a very 'special juice.'"

Phew. "I wasn't too crazy, was I?" The timidness was teeming in her voice.

"Not anymore than you usually are. For a while I could hardly tell the difference until you started complimenting me, then I realized that you must have been out of your mind."

A white set of teeth took a bite of red lips. "So then how did I make it back here?"

Hans let out a breath. "I took you back, it's not a big deal." For a moment she thought he had more to say until he started to get up off the bed and head towards the door. "You should get dressed and drink some water, your boyfriend isn't going to find himself."

She nodded, peering towards a mess of clothes on the floor.

"Anna."

His voice somehow surprised her, and she gazed back towards him with a large, curious set of eyes.

"For a complete ditz, you really do have a talent for pinning people down." He shot her an almost smile before closing the door behind him.

"But I didn't—" The latch on the door clicked. "…Say anything."

* * *

The stillness settled around her as she continued to sit, staring at the door and wondering what could've happened. Something she couldn't place her finger on seemed different, but unfortunately the fuzziness in her mind blocked her from realizing exactly what it was.

It should've come as no surprise to Hans that Anna would take slightly longer than usual to get her act together and exit the inn. Because, after all, it had taken quite a bit of time for her head to stop reeling from pain; and for her to get dressed without poking pain towards her migraine any further.

And then there was her hair, which was a totally different crisis that also had to be dealt with.

"I'm beginning to think that, that drink was _not_ juice." She thought out loud while exiting the building, head still sore from the sunlight aggravating her hangover.

As per usual, Anna had expected to spend a while looking for the Southern Isle's thirteenth in line as he chased after various ladies. However, on this already unusual day, she instead found him simply sitting idly on a bench.

"What, couldn't find another young woman to stalk?" She chipped, striding next to him and choosing not to take a seat.

He seemed slightly despondent when he finally answered her while looking off towards a paperboy yelling gibberish in the square. "We have to find Kristoff soon, this journey has taken far too long and I'm sure that your guards are beginning to sniff around for you."

Noticing his lazy gaze, she took a moment to peek in the same direction before realizing that he was staring off at nothing. "Kristoff…" The thought hit her, that's what they were doing out last night in the first place. "You mean we didn't find him?" The question was stupid, and she knew it.

For a moment, she thought she noticed him scowl. "If we had, then I highly doubt you'd be running back to me." His sarcasm seemed slightly subpar compared to usual. "There are only a few bars left to check out, he's bound to be at one of them."

"But—wait, we can't find him now!"

"And why is that, Anna?" The cut to his words almost made her forget why she had protested in the first place.

"Because…" She had to collect herself. "…We haven't even picked out a ring!"

"Oh, good heavens, a_ ring_? You're joking me, right?" He leaned forward with a roll of his eyes and a dramatic downturn of his lip.

Suddenly she felt stupid. "Well…yeah."

"You're planning on proposing to that—that—" He stopped himself, though she couldn't help but wonder what more he had to say. "Fine, whatever, lets get a ring." He stood up and stormed away, forcing her to run after him.

"What is the big deal?! That's been the plan from the beginning, I only came after him because I knew I wanted to propose!"

"Because that worked out _so_ well for you last time."

The snarky comment made her stop walking as a pair of hands flew to her hips. "You're being especially _enchanting_ today Hans, for what occasion to I owe this pleasure?"

He stopped too, glancing at her huffing behind him. "I don't know—could it possibly be that I'm being dragged to a ring shop when I could actually be doing something towards getting you off my back?"

She approached him in the same fashion that he had done not a few minutes ago. "You're completely insane if you think I'm drawing this out any longer than I have to." An aggravated noise escaped her when she stormed off towards a shop that fit the bill.

"Really, because by the way you suddenly bring up this whole 'ring' ordeal after I tell you we need to get your boyfriend and get out of here, I couldn't quite tell." He followed after, stepping through the door that she had so kindly slammed open.

The abrupt scene visually started the jeweler, who both Anna and Hans were now staring at with a seething rage.

"I need a ring!" Anna yelled, pounding a fist down on the glass case and rattling a few pieces of jewelry that lay underneath it.

"O—Okay…" It was clear that the saleslady was unsure of how to go about this. "We have many different kinds in stock, bright golds, cool silvers, various cuts and sizes of stones…" She trailed off, looking through pieces in the display before turning her attention back towards Hans and Anna. "I'm sorry, but if you don't mind me asking, is everything okay here? You both seem so tense and it never makes for a good occasion when picking out rings. You two are together, right?"

Anna was so angry she couldn't even respond, which was a mistake as it had given Hans the time to answer instead. "Oh yes—of _course_ we're here together! I insisted on coming alone, but you know fiancées, always so _picky_ and _annoying_ about every little detail that they can never keep their eyes on the big picture!" He laughed, pulling Anna close.

She nudged her shoulder away with a disgusted face. "Yeesh, isn't he just the _sweetest_?" The fakeness in her laugh was almost alarming. "He says that now, but really he was the _controlling_ and _devious_ one that tricked me into going here with him the first place!"

"Aw, my little cupcake, don't say that!" He touched a finger to her nose that she swatted away. "You were so _convinced you loved me_, you just couldn't stand the thought of not marrying me even though I didn't yet have a ring!"

"The only reason I said 'yes' is because I didn't know the whole story, about how _different_ you were when things really came down to it, _pumpkin_." She accented the pet name is a prominent 'p.'

"Weird, because I specifically remember something about a _true love's kiss_ and how I was the only one who could administer it? Or perhaps that just my imagination running wild again." He rose an eyebrow and she responded with silence.

The saleslady had long since taken a step backwards until Anna finally decided to demolish the pairs failing façade. "That's it! Outside, _now_."

Hans shot the clerk a sickening smile before following the small girl out.

* * *

"What was that?!" Anna's words were brimming with anger. "You know—for a moment I almost thought that you were beginning to not be so bad of a guy and then out of nowhere you just make me realize that once a lying murderer, always a lying murder! Congratulations, I hope you're happy!"

"Happy? Happy?! Oh no, I haven't been happy since the moment you stepped back into my life, so don't go and blame me because you're a wreckless fool who only realized she 'truly loved' a guy after he was oceans away!"

"And why do you think that happened?!" She threw her arms in the air. "Because Elsa and I were too busy picking up the pieces of our Kingdom after _you_ ripped my heart out of my chest and then proceeded to try and kill us both!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, ripped out your heart? I must've missed that part seeing as you went crawling back to _Kristoff_ not two seconds after you realized how ludicrous it was to fall in love with a complete stranger!"

"It wasn't too hard of a choice—Kristoff is ten times the man you'll ever be!" Though her voice had hushed, the words coming out of her mouth seemed harsher. "That must be so hard for you to swallow—being a whole thirteenth in line for a throne that you'll never see and him being a 'plain, country bumpkin.'"

"Ugh," He rolled his eyes to divert the attention, but she could tell the comment had cut him deep. "I am so sick of hearing that name!"

"What name?! Kristoff?" The gnash of his teeth only proved that her assumption had been correct. "Well in that case—Kristoff! Kristoff, Kristoff, Kristoff, KRISTOFF!"

"Stop it, now!"

"And why should I?! Why do you care so much about what me and him do!?"

"Because, believe it or not, I wasn't completely lying that night of your sister's coronation! Is that so hard for you to wrap your thick skull around?!"

Hans' impulsive outburst brought Anna to a halt; for a moment the only sound between them was Hans' sharp intake of breaths as she stared onwards towards his contorted features.

"What, you can't believe a _heartless monster_ such as myself could actually feel something? Maybe you should stop twisting the world into what only you want to believe and grow up." The moment he finished was the same moment he spun to walk away, leaving a stunned Anna in the dust.

He was long gone by the time something actually formed in her throat that resembled a voice. "Wait…" She breathed, seeing him slink further and further into the crowds of people in the distance. "I really…didn't know."

* * *

After that little fiasco, the rest of the day was pretty much ruined for Anna.

She had still made a pathetic attempt to ask around at bars for anyone who fit Kristoff's image, but often times the answers she was given ended up not registering in her mind.

No, she wasn't thinking straight, and yes, it was unadmittedly because of Hans. She had tried everything to not think about what he had said, but it seemed that the longer she walked on through the island, the more she seemed to fail. At one point she was even so absorbed in her own thoughts that she circled around the same row of buildings three times before making the connection that she had gotten herself nowhere.

She couldn't go on like this. Against her better judgment, she had to go talk to him.

Though…that was much easier said than done when Anna was finally standing in front of the door to his room, the number of which she only had remembered from him writing it on that woman's parcel yesterday.

She took a breath, letting it out slowly. "You can do this Anna, it's not a big deal." Except it was, otherwise she wouldn't have sat in that same position for 5 minutes, balling a fist right above the wood of his room door. "Just…knock." Her hand still wouldn't move. "One time, then if he doesn't answer you'll leave." This time she nodded, finally forcing the hand forward for a couple of taps.

The door creaked open slightly, which she wasn't really expecting, so she peeked in to see Hans leaning over on the bed with his head in his hands. "Go away Anna." He didn't do so much as even look at her.

"No." No? What on earth was she thinking? "I—I'm not going." Her mind knew it was a horrid idea, but her feet took her further in anyways.

"What do you want from me?" In a fluid motion he pulled his head up and faced it towards her. "Another insult? To embarrass me further? Are you looking for—"

"I just came to talk, that's all." She took a seat at the edge of the bed next to him as he rolled his head back onto his palms.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Really? Because you had quite a lot to say a few hours ago."

His shoulder adjusted. "That was a joke."

"And that was a lie."

His lack of words only confirmed her speculation.

"…So I guess I should just say it then, shouldn't I?"

Hans didn't even flinch.

She let out an uneasy, careful breath. "…What was that back there…what you said?"

"I told you, its nothing serious. It doesn't matter."

She moved forward to peek at him more closely. "If it's nothing then why are you getting so defensive about it?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"I waited _thirteen_ years for my sister to come around, and even then I still gave her a chance. Try me."

"This isn't anything like that Anna, it's not about you or being shut out!" He took a hard swallow to calm himself down and hushed his voice before continuing. "What I did...I made a choice."

Her ear perked up. "…Excuse me?"

"That night, Anna, I made a choice."

The blue-eyed princess still didn't quite get what he was trying to say.

"…I thought it was all going to be so easy, waltzing into your Kingdom and capturing the heart of Queen Elsa—because who wouldn't fall in love with such a handsome fellow after being locked up all those years?" He gave a wry laugh that was absent of its usual haughtiness. "To be honest, after I left the Isles I started to consider that the whole thing had been an idiotic idea…until I met you." She continued staring at his hunched figure while he stole a deep breath and forced it out. "You were just so endearing, such a complete, captivating contrast to myself. It made me start to wonder if, perhaps, I had been right in thinking that taking over a Kingdom was a fool's dream, implanted by so many years of oppression from my siblings…"

Part of her wanted to comfort him with a touch to the shoulder, but the other part quickly decided against it.

"Then you had to go and blab that you were the princess! After that I just couldn't help myself. I changed my plans to focus on you—found you at that dance, spent that whole night with you, and brashly decided I'd propose to you after. At first I thought I was going to be putting on this charming, fake mask the whole time…" He took a moment to pause. "But somehow you cracked me wide open and I started to let myself enjoy the moment—sliding down the halls in socks like madmen, giggling our way up to the light house, dancing our shadows against the sail of a boat in the moonlight…" He clenched some hair in his hands while shaking his head with a guilty smile. "You know, for a second I even thought it wouldn't be so bad. I could just marry you and be happy until your sister stepped down from the throne…or so I thought, at least; until that night when she went flying off the handle and you went after her." Visibly, he cringed. "Things got complicated after that, with too much time to let my thoughts fester and morph into more greed. I started to think that maybe power simply was all I needed to be happy, because if people knew who I really was they would never want to spend more than a second around a nobody like myself. Hell, even my own family couldn't stand to look at my good-for-nothing face. No title, no chance for a crown, no point in wasting time on a prince who would never inherit."

All of the sudden Anna started to catch the reason as to why Hans thought so lowly of the people in his Kingdom that day they first arrived. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize..."

His hands rubbed over his features before he moved his head slightly upwards, his gaze still avoiding her own. "No one ever does, but I deserve it." He pursed his lips while shooting a disheartened stare towards the wall. "I had a chance to change when you burst in and started talking about how only 'true love's kiss' could save you…" He paused, then grimaced with a downward glance. "…But in the end I didn't take it. I could have lived in utter bliss with you, yet for whatever reason I was afraid of what would happen if I did kiss you and it didn't work—how you would look at and judge me for lying to you all that time. I couldn't take it."

Anna wanted to look away from him, however something didn't let her. She was clinging hungrily onto every single syllable.

"In that moment I had to make a choice, of which I was battling about right up until the moment I decided to _let you die_." He laughed in disbelief, looking back down shamefully. "Anna, what you said last night, you were right. So astonishingly right that it hurt to hear it." His stare was intense. "I wanted to love you so badly, and you were so willing to love me in return, however, in that moment I chose greed because it was all I never knew. Love was so foreign—so scary and new…but _greed_, well, greed was something I knew had always worked for me before."

All the puzzle pieces were starting to assemble in Anna's head. "So that's why you did it, to be noticed." In a twisted way, she could relate. She could remember those desolate days of roaming around the castle halls, hoping—_yearning_ for Elsa, or really anyone, for that matter, to finally acknowledge that she was more than just the spare.

Hesitantly, she placed a hand on his knee in a comforting manner. Apparently she wasn't the only one confused at how the notion had came to be, because Hans let go of his head to finally turn a pair of emerald eyes toward her own.

"You shouldn't trust me." He said simply. "I'm a monster, you should be long gone by now."

"I know, I don't—I mean, not like I _don't_ but like, just—I know what it's like…being the spare." The words came out jumbled, but she got them out nonetheless.

"Don't try to relate to me, Anna." He turned away with a tinge of what she thought was frustration. "Don't you dare let me believe that you actually care—that you actually understand the heart of a man who tried to murder you, when in the same situation you unselfishly chose to save your sister." Slowly he turned back and Anna visually saw something click in his head. She wasn't quite sure what until she sensed him grabbing her chin with one hand and placing the other on her cheek.

"Wait, what are you—"

"We're completely different. You, so pure and innocent, trusting a man who tried to overthrow your Kingdom—sitting alone with him in his room, on his _bed_."

She made a weak attempt to move her face away but failed. "I—I don't understand what you're trying to say."

The next thing she could discern was the feeling of Hans' hands sliding up her arms as he forcibly pushed her back against the bed and pinned down her wrists. Momentarily she gave a nervous struggle against him, but he was far too demanding for her to make any leeway. "H—Hey! This isn't funny Hans, let me—"

His lips brushed her neck as he pushed his grip on her down harder and straddled the rest of himself over her thin figure, making escape a less likely option. She felt her face start to redden as dread flooded her stomach. There was no way she could win, Hans was heavier than her, and she was stupid enough to think for a second that she could handle being entirely alone with him.

A grimace forced to her lips as she turned her head away, feeling his warm breath trace along her neck and stop just at her ear. "I bet your boyfriend doesn't play with you like this, does he?"

She clenched her mouth shut harder, not wanting to answer his pervasive questions.

"Oh, what's this?" He hovered his head near her cheek, veering his eyes along the freckle trail framing her facial features. "A virgin? So he hasn't ruined you yet after all."

The delight he got from that made her shrink; the fear making her body start to quiver against his own.

"That's right, be afraid."

She let out a vacant scream as he held down her shoulders and undid the tie on her bodice. The terror pumping adrenaline throughout her body had long since taken away her voice; everything else seemed to slow and she felt his rhythmic breaths on her ear once more.

"Run, while you still can, or I'll end up ruining you."

Miraculously, with the phrase she felt his weight lift off her

"I'm not kidding Anna," He started to turn towards her from his spot in the doorframe. "You can't fix damaged goods."

He left after that, but her head was still reeling to the point at which she almost hadn't realized he had done so. What was going on? Here she was, on an honest quest to propose to the man of her dreams…but instead had been mounted by a man who lead her along to the tune of a heartbreak that had lasted way longer than Anna was willing to readily admit. "This is not good…" She slapped a set of hands on her face. "No, no, no, Anna, not good!"

* * *

**Notes:**

**Here we are again, at the end of another chapter! I hope you all enjoyed! I've probably had the most fun writing this out of all the chapters so far! (Although I read it almost ten times over before finally figuring that I could read it ten more and I still wouldn't feel it ready) It just keeps getting better and better…**

**I just loved getting to delve into a more human element of Hans, seeing why he made the choices he's made and realizing that nothing he can really say will justify them. So good. B-)**

**But enough blabber, onto you awesome people!**

_**BlackCatNeko999**_**: Hopefully it wasn't too much suddenly being thrown at you! This was definitely a far more dramatic chapter than the rest…hope you were ready for it! C: But seriously, that is so sweet! I am delighted that you think that of this story!**

_** .Guest**_**: Thank you! I'm just keeping motivated because I've never taken on a project this big before, especially in writing. I can't believe that this is Chapter 6 already and that I basically have 3 chapters left (to write) before its done! Woah!**

_**Ava-Potter Gal**_**: Phew! Ask and ye shall receive, chapter is posted! C: The chapters are definitely getting longer so hopefully you won't have to wait too long until the next one!**

_**DarkSideChick**_**: Oh my gosh I am so excited for Kristoff too, you don't even know. Things are going to get AWESOME when he finally arrives B-) Thank you for your so-sweet comment! It feels good to know that people are excited to read my story!**

_**Animelle**_**: Woah!? Nuh-uh, really?! Ahh…I'm blushing…I feel so honored that you favour this Hanna story above others! Seriously, floored. c: thank you so so much!**

**And that's it!**

…

…

**Wait, you didn't think I would forget about the rest of you awesome readers, did you? Of course I didn't! Thank you all for reading and sticking with this so far! I really appreciate it! **

**You da bess. Can't wait to hear more from you all!**

**XOXO,**

**BrittBerry**


	7. Chapter SEVEN

_**Deadlock**_

_Chapter SEVEN, Sleeping and Stars _

Anna didn't sleep a wink that night.

But really, how could she have? With Hans dropping a bomb like that on her and then proceeding to be one step short of assaulting her, there wasn't much room in her mind for anything else.

The unfortunate part was that he had to make room. The moment she let Hans occupy more of her thoughts than Kristoff, things would manage to get more confusing then they already were. And Anna didn't want that; she _couldn't _have that.

So she chose to avoid him.

Finding Kristoff on her own couldn't be _that _hard. After all, as much as she hated to admit it, Hans had been right when he described her blonde haired ice harvester as 'clunky' and 'large.' With that reputation, there were only so many places he could drop into before someone noticed him because of it.

The sound of her steps hitting the cobblestone slowed. "Who am I kidding?" She closed her eyes and let the soft, evening breeze cool her down. "There's no way I'm going to find him by myself."

The words he spoke against the evening of the day prior rang over and over again in her head.

"_Run, while you still can…"_

"_I could have lived in complete bliss with you."_

"_You can't fix damaged goods."_

…And the one most distressing,

"_I wanted to love you so badly."_

"Ugh, Hans!" She yelled, putting her hands to her ears in an attempt to block out the sound while unaware of the peering couple looking onwards.

"Oh, oh—! Honey, it's her!"

"That it is! Ha!"

The bellowing laugh of the second voice gave it away. Anna turned to face the couple she met that night at the tavern, who were only laughing while advancing towards her.

"There you are my girl, sweet girl!" The familiar, older woman approached and took her hand softly. "Anna, was it?" She didn't remember telling the woman her name, but then again, there were a lot of things she didn't remember from that evening.

"Yes dear, Anna!" He chuckled, putting a hand on his wife's back. "We were beginning to wonder if you ever made it home that night!"

Anna nodded quickly. "I did."

"Oh, I remember now! That tall, kind fellow took you didn't he? Hans, was it?" She shot a coy smile to her husband who only nodded. "Where is he now, you must tell us! You two were such a lovely couple, I bet he carried you all the way home!"

"No, you see he's not with me…"

"He's not?" She exclaimed in response, smile only growing wider. "Well then we sure do have a surprise for you, dearie!"

"…I think I've had enough surprises from the both of you for a while…"

"No, no, come with us! You must!" This time the larger man enclosed her hand in his. "Tonight is a night of celebration! The third day in a week of parties for our friends Arnold and Helga!"

Anna started to feel sick at just the mention of the name. "…Didn't you already celebrate that? I don't know if I can take much more 'celebrating'—I was pretty knocked out after las—" A jerk of her body set her off, feet quickly moving to keep pace with them.

"We don't take excuses, just _enjoy_ yourself!" He boomed while his wife giggled after them.

"No—but really, you don't understand I'm trying to find a man named Kristoff!"

"Kristoff? Oh no, dearie, who you're looking for is _Hans_!" The woman sped up next to her husband and nudged him slightly. "I think our confused friend might have started drinking without us!"

"I didn't—"

The man kicked the door open the door, revealing a scene that didn't stray too far from the one she saw two nights prior…Except there was one difference.

"See darling?" The lady whispered next to her, gently putting her hands on Anna's head to direct her gaze to a barely freckled man leaning on the bar. "Hans."

Suddenly she found her body too stiff to say anything in retaliation, which only became more ridged as she noticed him look in their direction.

"Don't be shy, go!" Yelling the last part, the woman pushed her towards him in an act that made her stumble to catch herself.

She almost didn't want to look up when she was finally steady again, but knew that she had to in order for the damage to be minimalized. "So—well…" Apparently 'getting off to a good start' was not on her agenda for that day. "I—you see—just…uh…"

"Hi." He responded coolly just as she gathered the strength to rove a pair of blue eyes at him.

"Hi." She said curtly, not quite sure of how she could follow up.

"You probably want to be in this situation about as much as I do."

She had to veer her face away because she knew it was true.

"...About last night—"

"Forget it," She snapped. "Its not a big deal."

"That's not what I was going to say." Though she detested the feeling, once again, curiosity hung her on every word. "What I did…I shouldn't have treated you like that." Hans looked away in what she almost thought was embarrassment. "Pushing people away is kind of my specialty, if you haven't noticed."

The tenseness in her body relaxed slightly, but not fully. "It's…fine."

"It's not. Now you're aware of how I feel and you know of my regrets. My dirty laundry is airing out on the table and it was easier to try to make you go away than to fold it all back up."

She bit her lips and closed her eyes; almost hoping the whole thing would be a dream.

"I'm just…not good with these things." He sighed. "For me at least, the truth is difficult."

For some reason she hated being like this. Anna hated that something had changed between them and that she now was at a loss for words. Even bickering at each other was better than being reduced to a pile of rubble at even the sight of him. Why did it suddenly feel like her inner self was in such conflict?

He took a while before gathering the strength to say anything else in the absence of her response. "I got a tip from the owner of the bar where Kristoff was staying. He's scheduled to leave tomorrow on a boat in the afternoon, if you wait by the docks then you'll be sure to see him."

"Kristoff?" She looked up at him and her heart calmed a little. That was right, finding him meant this was the last night they would have together before she would return. For whatever reason, her heart slightly sank. Now she had two choices, either spend it treating Hans like the scoundrel he was, or treating him like that lovesick puppy who had led her up the waterfall that fateful night. "Don't…you mean Reindeer Games?" She shot him an awkward smile.

The prod made his head turn back towards her own, a helpless smile gracing his lips. "No, just Kristoff."

A silence that reminded Anna of the one they shared the first day they met at the docks worked between them. However, unlike that first time, Hans' cut through it before her own. "We might as well make the most of it since we're stuck here for a while." Playfully he tilted his head towards the married couple that had forced them back together. "Somehow I don't think they'll be letting us leave anytime soon."

She giggled, finally feeling at ease. "Well then, what is it that you propose Prince Hans?"

"Oh Princess Anna, I think you know." He extended a hand to her, which she readily took. "We dance."

With that he took her out to the floor, twirling in a waltz to a song in 4/4 time. They didn't care though, because there would be no ties to one another after tonight. Soon, Anna would be engaged to a man who's name sent Hans into a frenzy the day before, and Hans, well Hans would be on his way to anywhere that wasn't here. All was out in the open now, between Anna's drunken confession that she still had a tinge of what was for Hans, and his retaliation of bearing the inner workings of his frozen heart.

Yes, tonight there would be no bickering. No low blows, or secretively spiteful comments. Tonight they could return to what could have been, but only with the knowledge that with the sunrise it would all disappear.

"Hey," Hans whispered into her ear as he continued to dance. "Look, I think they're starting to get distracted."

Anna followed his stare to the, now drunken, pair that had forced her into drinking an abundance of 'juice' a few nights before. "Oh, so you're saying we should make a break for it?" She smiled.

"Did I stutter?" He turned green eyes back towards hers with a seductive grin.

She rolled her eyes with an equally playful curve of the lips. "Lets just go before they catch us."

With all the giggling and exchanging of shushes of fourteen-year-olds, the duo snuck out of the building and into the darkness of night, letting all their laughter out when they had finally thought to be home free.

"Wow, you really surprised me." Hans spoke first after his chuckling had subsided.

"And what's that—" Her body was still bouncing from stray giggles. "—supposed to mean?"

Finally he let all the laughs out with a sigh, leaning against a wall. "That I didn't know it was in your capacity to be silent for longer than three minutes."

"Oh, very funny." She rolled her eyes but kept the smile. "I wasn't the one who stepped on his dance partner's _toes_."

"That drunk guy pushed me and you know it." Suddenly he didn't seem so amused until Anna started into another tittering fit.

"Whatever you say princey-prince, I won't judge." The pair exchanged glances, basking in the moonlight. "…So I guess that's it then, we just go back to the inn and sleep." She didn't mean for it to come out so somber, but a tint of it worked its way into her voice.

"On the contrary, I think we've just begun."

She wanted to question him but felt a gentle grab to her hand before she could.

"When we were younger, my older brother would sometimes bring us on this island if he wanted to drink while we ran amuck." He started to move forward and she followed. "It was smaller than the main one, so I guess he figured it was an easy way to cop out of a daycare duty since he could essentially do whatever he wanted while us three youngest exhausted ourselves running around."

She raised an eyebrow while he fumbled with the decrepit wooden door of what looked like a church.

"After awhile of this we started to get a little bored, so we started to find other forms of entertainment. For the most part they were pretty vanilla, until my brother Helmut found this." He pushed the door open to reveal…

An ugly, dusty old chapel.

The freckled girl made a face, looking to a pleased Hans and trying to understand what he found so special about a church that looked like it would collapse at any second. "That's…great…"

"I appreciate your attempt to feign delight, I really do, but what I mean to show you is up a little more…" He turned her head upwards, towards a darkened bell tower with a smile. "…above."

"Whoa." Mouth agape, she awed before he tugged at her once more, taking her higher and higher with each clumsy step.

He covered her eyes just before they got to the top, a smile tracing his lips.

"Hey—" She started, touching her hands to his in an attempt to regain her visibility.

"Trust me." He whispered.

"You're asking me to trust _you_, the man who brought a sword down on my frozen body?"

"Okay Miss Snarky Pants, point taken. But if I had wanted to kill you then you would've already been tumbling back down the stairs my now." He felt her smile against his fingers. "It'll only be for a second, I promise."

She would've fought the validity of his 'promises' also, but decided to keep quiet as he led her through the creaky door and felt a breeze swoon over her skin.

"Are you ready?"

"What, you're not going to push me off, are you?"

His grin deflated. "I've had just about enough—" His hands lifted, granting her a sudden visibility. "Of you."

A scene of floating lanterns parading across the skies in the distance stole away her words. It was spellbinding; so warm and bright against the stark darkness of the oceans and once illuminated islands. "Its—"

"Beautiful?" He finished, approaching the balcony also. "It is, isn't it?"

Her surprise landed into a soft smile. "Yeah."

"You know, when we were younger the lanterns would only appear every once in a blue moon." She noticed the faint light reflect in his eyes as she walked towards a spot next to him. "Recently though, it seems they happen more often." Another smile tugged at the side of his lips. "Perhaps the people who release them have finally found what they were looking for."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Anna asked almost breathlessly, still taken aback by the beauty of the dancing lights.

"Well, clearly they're celebrating more than before. _Something _must have changed." He shrugged.

For a moment, her eyes darted downwards, glazed over in thought before looking back up again. "Maybe…something has."

It felt like an hour before either of them were free enough from the demanding display of lanterns to speak again.

"Anna." Hans broke first.

Without a second thought she looked towards him, but it seemed his gaze was still captured elsewhere.

"For the record, if I had the chance to choose again, I'd do it all differently."

His stare turned back on her just in time for a sensation to start darkening her cheeks. His goofy smile, mesmerizing and taking her back to that night when they sat on the balcony of Arendelle's castle. Everything was so entrancing that she almost didn't notice her heart skip a beat when he hesitantly moved forward.

However, what was even more surprising was that she found her body going against all the signals in her mind screaming for her to step back.

She shivered slightly at the touch of his feeble hand to her ear when he pushed a piece of hair behind it softly. "Hair in your face." He justified, taking a second to pause his emerald eyes on her own.

Momentarily, Anna almost thought she could see the time around them stop as he took another smooth step closer. His hand, now cupping her cheek while her brain desperately pleaded for her to do _something _until—

She turned away, taking a deep breath and pushing it outwards. "Hans! I almost forgot, I was going to ask you!" She gave a nervous set of chuckles, too scared to look bac k and see his face full of disappointment. "About, like—when you die!"

"Die?" His voice suddenly sounded tired.

"Yes, when you die! What if that happens…and you could only take one memory with you…what would you choose?" It was hardly a good question, though it did clumsily accomplish the goal of changing the subject.

Even though she wasn't looking at him, she could feel a sort of change in atmosphere. "I wouldn't."

"You wouldn't?"

"I wouldn't take just one. It's all or nothing."

The strangeness of his answer prompted her to cast a timid set of eyes back towards his figure.

"Sure, there are things I'd like to change—and, sure, this isn't the life I thought I'd be living." He stopped to speculate. "But if even one tiny thing in my life had changed, then quite possibly everything in my life would have changed along with it. Think of the places I could have missed out on, the things I would have failed to see, the people—" This time, he had to halt himself. "The people I could have never met, if it weren't for every moment in my life leading up to that."

"I guess you're right." She drummed her fingers on the railing.

"And what about you, Miss Curiosity?"

"I'm the same," She sighed. "I couldn't choose just one either."

"Well aren't we an indecisive pair?" The prod and light chuckle to his voice released some of her tension. "But to be honest, we should probably get back.

"No!" The words had blurted out before she had even had a chance to cover her mouth.

He raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"Yes…" Well, she might as well stick with it now. "No…lets stay and not go back—just for a little bit longer at least." She widened her eyes when he failed to answer right away. "Please?"

He responded with a roll of the eyes. "Are you sure you're not just drunk again? Begging for the company of the wonderful, god-like Prince Hans to watch over you for the night?"

"Shut it and sit down." She smacked him jokingly and immediately retracted her hand, forcing her bottom on the ground in an ungraceful motion.

"Only for a little longer." He warned as he took a seat next to her.

She gave a small smile and noticed the warmth of Hans' body as he sat next to her. "Only for a little longer, I promise."

* * *

The first to feel the sunlight bouncing off of their skin was Anna, which became evident when she peeked open her eyes to have them flooded with the glow from the sunrise. She stirred; a noise escaped her throat before her eyes closed again after her body had turned. However, they didn't stay that way for long after the breeze brushed Hans' light scent against her nose.

Slowly, she fluttered a set of lids open once again to see the man in question at her side. Anna had only begged for a few moments more, but it appeared in that time she had fallen asleep and he, instead, decided to let her use him as a pillow.

"Good morning." She whispered and wasn't surprised at his lack of response. He was still out cold after all, and looking at him like that from her angle brought a slight, gentle curve to her lips.

It was incredibly hard to leave him like this. Him being so peaceful, unaware of the fact that she would be leaving in his slumber. But it wasn't hard that she was leaving, it was that when she left…it was forever.

She hovered a small hand over his face, almost trying to break the illusion that the two were together like this.

"I'm sorry." In a hushed tone she leaned towards him, leaving the light touch of her lips to his forehead as the last mark that the two had ever known each other.

It wasn't like she had a choice though, Anna had to go. If not for Kristoff, then at least for the fear of what the ache in her chest was as she descended down the dusty staircase and exited the church.

Kristoff was the right choice; he was good for her. With Kristoff there had never been any drama, any betrayal, and she was happy. Rationally, she knew that should be enough, but the recent reasoning of her heart started to wonder if 'enough' was what she wanted. It was dangerous.

She supposed, in that sense, her and Hans were alike. Both of them, willing to run because it was easier than facing the truth.

None of that mattered now, though, because Anna had to pack. Her decision had been made, and after sorting through her things she would go to meet Kristoff at the docks.

A newfound confidence weakly filled her as she stumbled to push open the door to her room at the inn, but a partially disappointed breath left her lips when she found it empty. Tidy bed, tidy vanity, and a few simple dresses hanging in the closet; everything was just as she left it.

Then again, what else could she have been expecting?

"Guess I might as well get started then." Mumbling to herself, she approached the closet and took down a shawl that she had planned to use as one of her 'fail proof' disguises not a few days prior. She took a long time holding it, feeling the sheer fabric against her fingers while absent blue eyes stared onwards at every one of its folds.

The spell broke only when she put the item in her trunk and noticed a pen and parchment on the vanity, for traveling visitors to take notes, no doubt.

"A notepad." The simple scene seemed to have triggered some idea in her head. She might not have fully known exactly what it was, even as she approached the vanity, took a seat, and looked at herself in the mirror.

It was after that, that the pen hit the paper—sealing the next hour of her life as one of her biggest regrets.

* * *

**Notes:**

**Whoa. So long, so sorry! This week/last week have been pretty insane. Especially with the super bowl and parties and the like. (2014 SB champs! B-) ) **

**I also had a lot of trouble finishing this off. Not that I didn't know how, more like I had a plan for how I wanted the story to go and kept trying to work something into it that simply wasn't working. I wrote at least 2 or 3 pages of that before deciding it was a stupid idea and scrapping the whole thing. Maybe in a different way it can get put in later, but definitely not here…**

**But onto you all!**

_**XTheAuthorThatNeverWasX**_**: Oh stop! That is so sweet, I'm really, REALLY flattered! C: I am glad that you liked it, it was super fun to finally get into the meat of it all!**

_**Anny**_**: Ahhh! Thank you c: I'm sorry this chapter took so long to reach ! **

_**DarkSideChick**_**: Right?! No having cake and eating it too, mister. Aw, I'm so glad that you liked it! It was super fun to be able to write that element to him…oh, how long I spent editing that all! Hmm we shall have to see about that ;) there is still more to come! Hopefully I can keep it all organized as planned~ **

_**Bubbles**_**: Whoa, DESPERATE?!...That is the kindest thing ever :') I'm so sorry it took a while for this to get out ahhh! But here it is! A little sweet, less sour…kind of bitter ending but things just get better from here! And your compliments are too much! I have considered writing another fanfiction, but I'm not quite sure what the topic would be on c: and I would also do another type deal as this one where I would finish the first three chapters, plan up to a certain chapter and THEN start posting. I really do enjoy writing and this project is so fun I can't imagine it ever coming to an end!**

_**BlackCatNeko999**_**: Breathe! Chapter Seven is here! I'm glad you got that c: Yes, I figure that Hans is the person who would rather push people away instead of letting them see his inner workings. He only let Anna see him here because he just couldn't help it anymore! After all, I'd like to think that Hans actually did feel a little something for Anna during the course of the Frozen movie…and he tried too hard to push her away in the last chapter that he realized the only person he really ever cared for would hate him forever if he didn't just let it all 'go.' Maybe that didn't make sense. Welcome to my unedited commentary (which is really just a blob of thoughts streaming through my brain.)**

_** .Guest**_**: Oooo I'm glad you felt an intensity while reading it c: It amazes me that I could make anyone feel that through words!**

**Thank you to all my readers again, and please know that I really appreciate every single view, comment, favorite and follow. I have grown to love writing this so much…WAY more than I even thought I would! I will try to get chapter eight out ASAP for you all c: **

**(Maybe I'm subconsciously taking longer to put out chapters now because I don't want it to end…)**

**I look forward to hearing from you, I hope you have enjoyed the fluffy, sweetness of chapter seven!**

**Love,**

**BrittBerry xx**


	8. Chapter EIGHT

_**Deadlock** _

_Chapter EIGHT, The Change in the Choice  
_

A note.

Hans squinted his eyes from afar to see something scrawled across the face of it as it lay perfectly on his bed.

"_Hans_." It read.

From the doorframe he took a backwards glance, as if expecting someone to be there.

But there wasn't.

So instead, he walked forward slowly, rubbed a bit of sleep from his eye and placed a hand on the note with curious fingers. He made an attempt to open it without haste, but quickly found his fingers tracing every fold, taking in every last scent of _her _left on its creamy pages.

Somehow, the time he took appreciating it almost seemed to make him afraid to open it.

But he did, revealing a neat document, which vouched for Hans' redemption;

'Anna,' was neatly signed at the bottom.

The man let out what breath he was unintentionally holding, adjusting his fingers slightly to hear another page clash with the document between his fingers. There were two papers. Two papers forced him to realize that suddenly the first one didn't mean as much, and he dropped his only hope of freedom at his feet to hungrily read the short set of words that she had left for his eyes only.

"_If I could do it all again, I'd choose differently too._

_Love,_

_Anna"_

By the indents and amount of crinkle around the letter itself, he could tell it was the last of many drafts. It was so simple, so sweet, so indicative of all that embodied the fluffy princess who ended up leading whatever was left of the corrupt Prince's heart away.

For a long while he stood, staring hard at the paper with a linger of what was still contaminating his chest. Now, the usually confident man felt helpless. The feeling was foreign, only ringing in a bit of tainted nostalgia from the similar, inadequate feelings he felt throughout his youth.

"You complete imbecile." He confessed to himself after a time, still not letting his grip loosen on the page; a forced sigh left his lips when he finally got enough strength to set it on his vanity. Looking at it just made things worse, allowed too many thoughts to weigh his mind down even further with regret.

Something in his chest twisted, squeezing at whatever emotion was left. He wasn't fully sure what feeling it even was until his hand smashed into the wall, determining it as anger. Anger for never being good enough, for always falling short—always being the useless, cowardly, heartless, ugly monster that his brothers had constantly predicted he would become. Angry for letting a girl get under his skin who was probably too oblivious to understand the gravity of his confession that night in the very place he stood right now.

A tired set of emerald green eyes opened, looking towards the document that acted as the key to his freedom on the floor. Her name, still signed so large that he couldn't help but notice it, even from across the room.

'Change' was the theme of their final exchanges. If only he could change this, and if only she could change that—then perhaps their situations would be different. But…'change' didn't have to have an expiration date, did it?

He took a turn back towards the vanity, staggered over to it and read the letter once more with desperate eyes and a freshly bloodied hand.

One of the main criticisms from Hans' brothers was that he could never change. Since forever he had been hearing it so continuously that it finally internalized during his adolescence—this idea that he would be a bad seed until death, and that no one could ever love a failure like himself.

But 'change,' the one that he and Anna spoke about, didn't have to mean that. It didn't have to mean missed chances and dreaming of nights once spent giggling under a cheerful moon and laughing stars. No, their 'change' was something they had both expressed a desire for_ now_. They were both so stuck in their plans that they hadn't even seen it creeping over them, or not until that moment at the very least.

Hans quickly grabbed the note when the possibilities started firing off in his head.

Perhaps 'change' was a gamble, and perhaps it would end up not being able to happen for a crook like Hans and an almost betrothed like Anna. However, for once in his life, Hans was going to try.

* * *

Saving herself or saving her sister had been a hard decision. In that split moment she didn't know what she was going to do, but somehow her feet started pulling her towards the Hans who was bringing a sword down on Elsa's frail figure. Everything had happened so fast, Anna wasn't even fully sure she had made the choice until the last thing she remembered was a blade coming down on her finger. In that sense, the decision had been easy. There was no thought involved, only impulse mixed with a desire to love and take care of her sister.

However, this decision was different. This decision was possibly even harder than the last; because living with it was something she still didn't know if she was okay with. She knew it was right, of course she did. Anna wouldn't be at the docks right now if it weren't for undying love for Kristoff. She loved him, or she at least thought such—but none of that mattered because, right now, Kristoff's love was _enough_.

"Enough." She sighed, timidly looking to the crowds for a familiar face as unfamiliar ones passed her on the docks. It was strange that the red heads of hair excited her far more than the blonde ones, but she chose to accredit that with tiredness from falling asleep late last night.

"Abeline, was it?"

She hated how much she remembered the sound of the male's voice.

"Abelin—Oh! _Prince Henrik_!" A laugh teeming with anticipation and nervousness left her lips while her eyes desperately scanned the hoard for a face that could save her from this unfortunate happenstance. "What a _pleasure_ it is to find you here…like this…in front of hoards of people." She felt like making that point would somehow tame him a bit.

"I was so _entranced_ by you at our first meeting—I was dearly hoping I would run into before you left again. That is what you're attempting right now, to leave, right?" His sarcasm didn't hit her in the same way that Hans' did.

"Yeah…meeting a friend then taking my leave! So sorry to—"

"A friend, is it?"

She bit her lip. "Well, not like a _friend_,but, like, a 'friend'."

Anna took a scared step backwards when he stepped closer, slimy grin weaving into his, once handsome, features. "Not a friend I know, I hope."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She felt the jolt of his hand clamp around his arm as he coolly pulled her closer so that his mouth met her ear. "Let's stop with the games, okay, Princess?"

The title froze her, although it shouldn't have come as any surprise to Anna that Henrik had long since figured it out.

His eyes shifted towards the incoming people. "Finding you alone has proved a harder task than I previously thought, and since time is of the essence, I want to propose a deal, of sorts." She didn't respond, in which time he put his hand on the small of her back to make it appear as though they were a parting couple. "You stay away from my brother Hans, and I let him live. You won't vouch for his redemption, you won't—"

"Too late." The words came out bitter.

He rolled his eyes and pulled her away, taking time to examine your face. "So you already did?" A set of blue eyes lingered on her a little longer. "Well that won't matter, I've seen the two of you in action, he's not going to use it."

"What are you talking about, why wouldn't he—"

"Oh dear, you really _don't_ know, do you?" He laughed. "Perhaps you _are_ as stupid as my brother told me."

"Why should I listen to you?! A scoundrel who threatens his own brother and expects me to listen to his demands!"

"Shush." A gloved finger landed on her lips. "If you don't want to believe me then run back to him, I'm sure he's long gone by now—off with another one of those barmaids he always played with. You're old news, honey. Hans asked me to trail you both the whole time." He chuckled smoothly. "You know, he even made a bet with me that he could make you fall for him again, despite all he had done to ruin your budding Kingdom."

"You're lying." She hissed.

He gave another roll of his eyes. "Maybe yes, maybe no, but you still love—" He coughed. "'_Like'_ him so much that you'll comply to my demands because you know I'd slit his throat in an instant."

The casualness with which he spoke the latter words disturbed her. "Wow, I wasn't aware that murderous tendencies run in the family."

The laugh was something she wasn't expecting. "You know _nothing _about his family. Hans is useful to me how he is right now, however, when he leaves, he's not. With all this controversy about how he fooled your Kingdom floating around, I've been able to accomplish my goals quite seamlessly."

"And those goals would be?"

"Hah, nice try. That's none of your business, all you need to know is that if Hans suddenly becomes less of a distraction alive, then he will need to be more of one _dead._"

"I've already made my decision," Anna took a hard swallow. "I'm leaving with Kristoff."

"Don't say his name like I care, as long as you leave now then we will be just _peachy_."

She didn't say anything out of what was couldn't determine was anger or fear.

"Excellent, it seems we are on the same page then?" Seeing his coy smile was something Anna chose to avoid. "Ah, your love interest was _blonde_, was he not?" Out of the corner of her eye she, unwillingly, noticed his finger point into the crowd. "Seems he's coming forward now. Time to play your part and pretend—oh, excuse me—_show_ how much your truly love him."

His laugh rang off into the distance, but she was far too nervous to notice. A lump had hardened in her throat, ruining every opportunity she had to swallow while his large frame pushed passed people of all shapes and sizes. Suddenly everything was moving so fast, the people around them at a running pace and their voices slurring words together in a flurry that ended with Kristoff's chestnut brown eyes landing on her own.

He had seen her.

"A—Anna?!"

His kind voice helped her breath again as he approached, a feigned smile working into her lips. "Kristoff."

"What on earth are you doing here?! The Southern Isles—" Rough and calloused hands enclosed around her shoulders, the first physical contact that the two had, had in ages. "Or—uh—sorry." A pinkness rose in his cheeks.

"No, no, its fine!" She put a delicate pair of hands on his forearms. "It's my fault! I should have never let you get this way, let _us_ get like this!"

"No—Anna, it's my fault, see, I was going back to Arendelle today because—"

"Kristoff I—"

"There was something—"

"Have this thing—"

"I need to—"

"I just got to—"

"Ask you."

"Ask you!" Anna paused when she had realized their final words had collided. "Wait—ask me?" Her finger thrust at her chest with a quizzical look, which, for whatever reason, made Kristoff burst out into a nervous fit of laughter.

"I know, it seems all 'touchy feely' and stuff, but, yeah, there's something I've been thinking about a lot."

The stiffness in her body relaxed ever-so-slightly as her focus switched to the strange look on his face.

"About leaving, I meant to…apologize. I shouldn't have done it all brashly like that, I should've at least left some sort of note or talked to you first. It was just—you got so busy and I couldn't see you anymore, everything hurt and I didn't know why…until it hit me. Anna, I…" His hand disappeared from her arm to a spot behind his head; it was one of his many nervous ticks.

"Kristoff..." She smiled sweetly, feeling a familiar tug at her heart. "It's fine, I came here—"

"I love you."

All her words were gone in an instant, as if she had suddenly become mute.

"Silence…not quite the answer I was expecting, but regardless, it's true." The words left his mouth with a sigh and a smile. "It took me leaving to realize that, and also to realize that…Anna, I can't live without you." Her eyes didn't leave his for even a second. "I can't live without your laugh, your smile, even without your talent for finding trouble. I thought that when I came here I'd just be spending time away from it all, but after I figured out what that hurt in my chest was…I figured the only way I could mend it was by keeping you around for awhile." With a rugged softness, he enclosed her hand in his and crouched down on one knee. "And by a while I mean, like…forever." He shot a lopsided smile at her. "Ms. Feisty Pants of Arendelle, will you forgive this Pungent Reindeer King and let him take you as his bride?"

Though time had seemed faster before, everything now seemed to all at once stop. She wanted something to come out of her lips—_anything_, but couldn't find the words. Large blue eyes looked straight down the town square behind Kristoff's shoulder, catching a painfully familiar freckled face staring back at her.

It was Hans. He had come for her.

It felt like a sharp dagger had cut into her fragile heart. Shouldn't she be happy? This was all she had ever wanted—to be with Kristoff forever and forget that Hans had ever been a part of her life. Taking all that into consideration, Anna should be ecstatic, and her former associations with Hans should ceased to have mattered. Eventually, all of her and Hans' new memories could be forgotten. But what Anna realized, in that moment, that she would never forget was the look on Hans' face as he watched Kristoff on bended knee. A face so full of regret, fear and devastation that she instantly regretted ever seeing it.

Momentarily their eyes met, her eyes helplessly grasping his own while he clutched her simply composed note firmly in his fingers.

If only she had a choice. If only 'change' was a feasible option. If only she hadn't picked now to do the responsible thing and choose the option that would keep both Hans and her safe.

A look of disbelief filled her features when she turned back towards Kristoff, barely getting the chance to notice a paper drop from Hans' hand in the distance. "Yes…yes, she will."

"She will!" Every little tension visibly left Kristoff's body as he laughed and held her close. People in the immediate area started clapping around them, offering the promise of happiness and their blessings. "I'm so happy I could—"

"Just do it!" She giggled, immediately feeling the rush of his lips hitting hers.

The kiss broke after what seemed like hours, his dreamy gaze dancing upon her face after she smiled awkwardly. "I even got a ring you know…it may not be pretty or anything but…" He took plain-looking band with a single diamond on it out of his pocket.

"Oh, Kristoff!" With a squeal she shoved a hand at him, trying to keep still as he slid the ring on her finger. "It's perfect." She cooed as she held her hand out and watched it glitter in the Southern Isles sunlight.

"I figured you'd end up losing anything too clunky." Kristoff shrugged jokingly, prompting a look from Anna.

"Whatever you say 'love master.'" She roved her eyes. "Just get back over here and kiss me again before I change my mind."

He complied with great haste, capturing her lips before taking her into a warm embrace.

Anna giggled against his ear before opening her eyes to see a lack of the redhead who had once been standing farther back. He was gone…but that was okay. It had to be okay, because this was Anna's choice.

From now on, all that mattered was her and the man who had stuck with her from the moment they met in that heated snow supplies store at the edge of Arendelle. The man, who had never betrayed her, never confused her, or lied about whom he was. The man named Kristoff.

"Anna, we should go…the boat's going to leave soon!" Their embrace broke and his hand slid over hers.

"Yeah, right…of course!" Her gaze tore away just in time for Kristoff to notice she had been staring off.

"Wait, did I miss something?" He stared hard at the spot she had been gazing towards.

"Uh—no, I was just…" An almost nostalgic sigh left her lips. "Wondering what I would've done if you had never shown up."

* * *

**Notes:**

**Okay, oops.**

**Guys…I am so sorry. I was so regular with updates, and then midterms hit and BAM—three weeks in between this and the last update. I promise this story isn't going to be abandoned, just school got crazy, so I could only write a little here and there when time permitted…but its here now! **_**Deadlock**_** Chapter VIII is ready for reading!**

**Hope its okay, I read it so many times trying to figure out how to get this all on the paper so that it DIDN'T read so disjointed after having been written little by little over the course of three weeks.**

**Again, oops.**

**But back to you all!**

_**TheJellyFish99**_**: Oh my gosh you re-read the chapter?! Oh, that makes me so happy c: I hope you enjoyed this one, sorry it took so long to get out!**

_**Steshin**_**: Hope it surprised you happily after all this time B- Thanks for camping…I'll offer some e-marshamallows for the wait. **

_**DarkSideChick**_**: Just reading your speculation makes me excited! I'm so happy you're enjoying this story! c: Aw man…I would die for a Hans/Anna film…I SO wish Frozen 2 would have Hans come back and love her (eventhoughIknowthatwon'thappen)**

_**BlackCatNeko999**_**: I want this Hans/Anna kiss to happen so bad you have no idea. It hurts to not write it almost…ah. And I'm the same…running is so much easier, especially when things are so messy and you feel like you shouldn't even be in the situation in the first place…which is almost how I figure Anna would feel. Too many feels.**

_**XTheAuthorThatNeverWasX**_**: Here he is! Kristoff! Slash, I love that you're being converted to the darkside…Hans/Anna x) muwahahhaahaaaa, sorry it took so long for him to get here…**

_**Namele55777**_**: I'm glad you enjoyed! c: I mean, he had to open up SOMEHOW right? Can't be a jerk all the time…right?**

_**GaaraRox88**_**: STOP. YOU DID NOT?! That makes me so happy! Except maybe I shouldn't be because I kept you up until 4 am…BUT EITHER WAY. CAN'T HELP IT, STILL HAPPY c: **

_** .Guest**_**: Thanks! c: Tangled is one of my all-time faves too!**

_**Anon**_**: Thank you! I'm very flattered c: And YES you caught that…I thought it was funny, I actually wrote it before I realized that it was 'Arnold' and 'Helga'…oops? **

_**EverlastingTrueRomance**_**: Ask and ye shall receive!**

**Thank you all for reading! You da best.**

**XOXO**

**-BrittBerry**


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